School Daze
by Clara
Summary: Kagome is forced to join her brother's school by her grandfather when her family notices the beatings he apparently goes through. There's only one problem. Souta goes to an allboy school.. InuyashaKagome, AU DISCONTINUED.
1. Getting Started

AN: Since I don't know the Japanese system for schooling, I'm going to go with a boarding school system in the United States. Sorry for my lack of knowledge in different international schools. This is an OOC story, and a KxIY story. Not yet, though.   
  
Another note is, there will be no yaoi or yuri in this story.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I made up the name of the school Souta goes to. If someone else had this idea, I did not intentionally copy your idea, and you have my most sincere apologies. Also, I won't be putting a disclaimer on every chapter. I figure that once is enough.   
  
~*~   
  
  
  
I saw my brother trudging to his dorm, head bowed and eyes trained obediently to the floor. His cheeks were stained with dirt and tears, and I could almost feel the waves of unhappiness emanating from his small frame. He was clutching his books to his chest like an educational shield, dragging his feet as if each shoe weighed a thousand pounds. What surprised me the most was that while he was walking down the halls, there was not a single soul with him. In fact, the entire hall was empty. It made me wonder just how many friends Souta had in this school.   
  
"Souta!" I called. My voice was cloaked to sound like a boy, but by the way my brother froze in his tracks, I knew he recognized me. Slowly, disbelievingly, he turned around and looked at me with the most hopeful look I had ever seen him give anyone, let alone me.   
  
"K-Kagome?" he whispered hoarsely. I nodded slowly. The disbelief in his eyes grew. "What on _earth_ are you doing here?"   
  
I gave him a weak impression of my usual grin. "Hey, Souta, mom isn't the only one who's noticed the bruises on your cheeks and how thin you've gotten."   
  
His eyes widened in revelation. I almost snorted. What, the kid thought that we didn't notice him using my make-up to cover the discoloration on his cheeks? Then his brown eyes narrowed into slits. "Mom sent _you_ to protect me?"   
  
"Are you crazy?" I asked, widening my eyes to prove my complete and utter innocence. Some relief shone on his face, but fell immediately when he heard my next words.   
  
"Grandpa did!"   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter One: Getting Started  
by Clara

  
  
My grandpa was filled with the most hair-brained ideas, and I was as crazy as him to follow what he said. He had the best intentions though. Whenever Souta came home for break, he was always pale and thin, with sharp bruises on his cheeks. He would flinch away from any sudden movement we made, until he gradually got used to the fact that we wouldn't harm him.   
  
Mom was the first to completely confirm our suspicions about what they were doing to him, when she had walked into his room on accident while he was changing. She told me with tears standing in her blue eyes that so many bruises and scars littered his thin torso, and that she could count his ribs without him even sucking in. She had tried to ask him what was happening in his school, but he refused to answer her, and even got angry when Mom had suggested moving him to a different school. He argued, that even though he was only twelve years old, he was perfectly capable enough to take care of himself.   
  
When my grandpa heard this, he decided that I was going to go there to protect him.   
  
Souta was a boy. He went to an all boy boarding school. That meant I was going to have to _be_ a boy.   
  
I was completely against this at first. There were too many things that could go wrong! For one thing, even though I was not the most buxom woman in the world, I did have enough curves to distinguish me from the male gender. And then there was always that time of the month..   
  
Grandpa wouldn't be dissuaded from the idea. He told me that I could always bind my chest to make me look like I had the upper torso of a guy. When I mentioned my monthly problem, he just blushed and told me that that wasn't a good enough reason to save my brother from certain demise. He had me cornered.   
  
"What about PE?" I had asked him. My mother just had this resigned look on her face. I shot her a dirty look, and she shrugged helplessly. She knew more than I did that when Grandpa had an idea, he would stick with it.   
  
"They have stalls." He glared at me then, and I shut my mouth, falling into the same form of resignation my mom was in. "Kagome, I know this isn't the most pleasant thing you could do, but it's for your little brother! You must protect him.."   
  
Still giving my grandpa a dirty look, I nodded in defeated acceptance.   
  
I screamed so loud I woke up our neighbors when he cut my hair.   
  
So that brings me to now. I'm sitting in the middle of a large room, hands folded neatly in my lap and back straight in perfect posture. The lady who was seated at the desk was so sophisticated that even the way she sat demanded my complete and utter attention. She was the dean of the school, and looked like she had many years of education underneath those wrinkles. The nameplate on her desk read simply as "Lady Kaede."   
  
"Mr. Higurashi Kagome," she said. Her voice was as sophisticated as her form, and I sat up even straighter. My lower back was killing me. "I would like to formally welcome you to St. Bernard's School for Special Boys. To be blunt, this is a very prestigious school, and we do not accept any form of delinquency. I, along with the rest of the members of the school board, expect you to have a neat and immaculate appearance. This also means that your shirt must be tucked in and your hair combed. We do not accept sloppiness."   
  
I paled ever so slightly. This school was _strict._   
  
"We also do not accept slackers." Her voice was stern and chilly. "Teachers expect your homework exactly when they ask for it. If you do not have it, then it will not just be counted down on your grade, but also on your conduct." I clenched my hands tighter together, and my eyes widened. This lady was scary. "You will be bunking with the young and honorable Hojou Hajemu."   
  
Suddenly, the frown and stern look disappeared and was replaced by a comforting smile. This sudden transition surprised me a little. "Sorry for the strict formality, but it's mandatory. Anyway, I'm happy you chose St. Bernard's School. I see that your brother is with us?" She didn't allow me to answer, but just kept talking in her now friendly voice. "It's always a pleasure to have brothers in this school.   
  
"To be more random, Mr. Miroku Priest will be giving you a tour around the school grounds. He is in your age level, so you don't have to worry about him talking down to you or feel inadequate because he's younger than you. Miroku is a pleasant and intelligent young man… once you've gotten past his odd eccentrics."   
  
I was still surprised by her sudden switch of personalities that my reply came out as a stutter and I had to bite my tongue to stop the questions on her seemingly multiple personalities from escaping. "W-what do you mean, 'odd eccentrics'?"   
  
The friendly smile became tight around the corners. "You'll see."   
  
That, understandable, was not very comforting.   
  
Lady Kaede pressed the button for the intercom. "Miss Shikyo, will you please send in Mr. Miroku?"   
  
"Right away!" came the instantaneous and slightly anxious reply. Again, I was filled with the sense of utter dread and confusion. With my luck, this guy was probably some time of obnoxious jerk who was full of himself…   
  
My thoughts were cut short when a boy peaked in. He was attractive and looked my age, but what really caught my eye was the small ponytail that hung at the nape of his neck. My own hand reached up to my now cropped hair, and I had that familiar urge to scream. My beautiful hair! My long, luxurious locks of black hair that I…   
  
"Hi!" the boy chirped cheerfully. "My name is Miroku Priest."   
  
"Kagome Higurashi," I answered curtly. Needless to say, my tone was much more restrained than his.   
  
"Kagome?" he repeated, faintly surprised. I gave him a warning glance, the center of my palms sweating slightly. This would be a bad time for him to figure out that I wasn't a boy…   
  
Thankfully, he let it drop.   
  
Miroku gave me a short and condensed tour of the school, and my worries about him vanished. I still didn't know what his "odd eccentrics" were, and that curious thought kept nagging at the back of my mind, but it really didn't bother me that much. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been that bad. After all, the guy did seem pretty popular, with all the people he introduced me to…   
  
My hard-soled shoes clicked quietly on the tiled floor as I followed Miroku, nodding at the times it seemed appropriate to nod. My bags were starting to feel heavy. The shoes I was wearing were boy shoes, not to mention the rest of my outfit. Grandpa had had the time of his life bringing me to buy clothing. Although he loves me so much, I knew that he had wanted me to be a boy. My mother routinely told me that when Grandpa found out she was pregnant, he had bought several baseballs and gloves, and even two bats. One large one for him, and one pint sized one for me. When he found out I was a girl, he was so disappointed—he pitched the balls and gloves and bats into the fire. Whenever I hear this, it breaks my heart.   
  
My grandfather got used to me being a girl a year after I was born. It took him a while to accept fate, though. In fact, he didn't talk to my mom for a complete month; as if she had the power to decide what gender I was going to be.   
  
Grandpa was—is—crazy.   
  
But even if he did get over me not being a boy, he still oftentimes treated me as one. I found myself continually dragged along to several sport games when I was younger. Grandpa had a soft spot for baseball, though. Several times Mom would come home from work and would find Grandpa and me missing, but there were still many times she would be there to see us off. She would tell me that whenever she _was_ home when we were on our way to one of our numerous "baseball stops", she would be near tears from laughing so hard. Grandpa was a rabid baseball fan, but he hated losing. Since it is nearly impossible to find a team that has an unbroken winning record, he almost always switched teams on a weakly basis.   
  
He always expressed his "loyalty" to the teams by dressing me up completely in anything that has to do with baseball. Including those ridiculously huge hands that had one finger up and the "Number One Fan of [insert team here]" on it. I had about five of those when I was a kid, all for different and, quite often, opposing teams.   
  
Don't get me wrong, though. As much as grandpa spoiled me as a boy, he spoiled me ten times more as a girl. I remember one time with crystalline clarity walking back from a baseball game and seeing a popular doll in the store window. Grandpa didn't notice I wasn't walking by his side and had continued walking and talking about how our new team wasn't really our team anymore. When he noticed I wasn't enthusiastically answering him, he stopped and turned around. There I was, face pressed against the glass as if I could somehow walk through the object blocking me from my desire. Grandpa smiled fondly, walked back to me, took my hand, then led me into the store. A few minutes later, we walked back out, still hand in hand. But this time we both were holding two dolls, me with an ecstatic look on my face, and Grandpa with a slightly resigned expression.   
  
Grandpa and I did everything together.   
  
Then, fatefully, four and a half years after I was born, my little brother Souta entered this world. When he came into the picture, it became Grandpa, Kagome, AND Souta.   
  
Just because of that, I hated him.   
  
That didn't last long. After he stopped drooling and stopped screaming, and started to become more interested in baseball, I grew to love him just as much as I loved Grandpa and baseball. Speaking of which, due to grandpa's obsession with baseball, _I_ also became obsessed. It became almost like a second nature to me. When I grew older and could hold a bat without taking off a person's head, let alone my own, I joined every league I could. T-ball, little league, softball, then good old regular baseball. It was hard for me to play good old regular baseball, though. There was always that awful stereotype that girls had to play softball and not baseball, and essentially the were the same thing. This made me want to scream, since baseball and softball are completely different things. Baseball was my life. It wasn't until the end of this whole ordeal when I grew to hate it, but that's getting ahead of myself.   
  
Anyway, at this period of time, I literally breathed, ate, and slept baseball. I'm exaggerating, but bear with me. But you can imagine my great and utter joy at the surprise of finding out that this school had a baseball team. It might sound silly about being excited about something that is most likely guaranteed to be at a school (since school's usually have baseball), but I couldn't help it.   
  
"Hey," Miroku said, sounding slightly nervous. I adjusted my bags. "I hope you like—"   
  
"—baseball!" I cut in, face radiating excitement.   
  
"...because it's rather important here," he finished, grinning slightly. "I'm taking it you enjoy baseball?"   
  
"I live for it," was my answer.   
  
"GREAT!" Heads turned to look at the pigtailed boy doing a touchdown dance in the middle of the hall. I frowned slightly. Would that be considered as unruly behavior, and would Lady Kaede give him a detention or something? I shrugged a little to myself, figuring that if they thought Miroku was apparently safe enough to allow giving tours around the school, then it wasn't bad he was dancing in the middle of the hall. "Akira left this school two years ago, and we're in desperate need of a GOOD baseball player." He paused for a moment, thinking over his words. "Are you good?"   
  
I gave him a dry look. "I've been playing since I could walk."   
  
"I'm taking that that means your good. GREAT!" He paused again, then looked completely crestfallen. "But Inu's really strict."   
  
"Inu?"   
  
"Yeah, his complete name's Inuyasha. Don't tease him about that, though. He'll flatten you." Miroku gave me a grin. "The guy's scary when he wants to be. And he's like this year round, but he's worse when we're on season. Since we're off-season, you don't have to worry as much. He's more tolerable off-season, and even a pretty cool guy. Hey, I'll introduce you to him at lunch, 'kay? We don't have any classes yet, since it technically is still summer break.."   
  
Miroku lead me into a large room filled with long tables all lined neatly in a row. "Cafeteria," was his curt explanation. There were several people sitting at these tables, either playing cards or talking or frantically finishing their summer work. "That's Eiji over there. He's our catcher. Inuyasha's our pitcher and team captain." His voice still had that excited tone to it. "Hey, Eiji!"   
  
One of the boys who was scribbling anxiously on a piece of paper at the table nearest to us held up his hand. He had an unruly mop of black hair (I wonder if Lady Kaede ever got on his case about that) and a pair of thick glasses, but a rather attractive face. I bit my tongue. This was NOT the place for me to be checking out boys… "I can't talk right out, Miroku. I still got two pages to do!"   
  
My tour guide shook his head. "You're fault, Eij. Come on, he doesn't need to know about our new star player.."   
  
THAT caught his attention.   
  
"Has he tried out yet? How good is he? Do you think we'll actually be able to WIN this time? Will.." Eiji shot out each question at a rapid fire pace, his pencil snapping in his hands to show his great excitement.   
  
"Woah, woah, woah," Miroku held up a hand. "Slow down there, buddy. Anyway, to answer your first question, no, he hasn't tried out. He won't until we start this season. You know that!"   
  
Eiji sighed and nodded. "Well, I hope he is good enough…"   
  
I shifted from foot to foot; adjusting my rather heavy bags again so they wouldn't cut off the circulation in my hands, then gave Miroku a half-hearted glare. He and Eiji were talking about me as if I wasn't there, and truthfully, I really wanted to set these bags down in my dorm. "Hey, Miroku… as interesting as this conversation is, and as much as I'd like to join your guys' team, these bags aren't feathers, yanno…"   
  
Miroku had the decency to blush. "Right, right. Sorry… I forgot. Who are you bunking with again?" He paused, and looked down at the papers I hadn't known he was holding. "HOJOU?!"   
  
Eiji choked, then laughed. He tried to smother it with a cough, but failed miserably. "Don't mind Miroku, uh… what did you say your name was again?"   
  
"Kagome."   
  
Eiji gave me an odd look, and I gave him the same warning glance I had given Miroku. "Ah, well, Inuyasha has a weird name, too. Anyway, why I'm saying you shouldn't mind Miroku is cuz he and Hojou are long time enemies. Though I'm not really sure if Hojou _knows_ he and Miroku hate each other. The guy's… kinda absent minded."   
  
"Uh, why do they hate each other?"   
  
"Eh, Priest is just a dumbass. You get used to it after awhile…"   
  
Miroku muttered something inappropriate and grabbed one of the chairs, sitting down backwards on it. "Kagome's new here. He's a transfer student from some place, and has got a brother that goes here." He sounded rather bored, and I made a rude gesture with my hand in his general direction. My hand that was hidden by my thousand pound bag, that is. The guy already forgot about taking me to my dorm!   
  
Completely ignoring me, Miroku struck up a conversation with Eiji about baseball and girls. Giving up, I sighed and dropped my bags, closing my eyes and ordering myself to take deep breaths. _I can calm down, I WILL calm down…_   
  
I gave up and dropped my three bags, then sat down on the largest one.   
  
While Miroku and Eiji chatted as if they hadn't seen each other for years, I looked around. I had to admit, this school was much nicer than my old schools had ever been. I snorted lightly. It was probably more advanced, too.   
  
After a few moments of intense conversing, Miroku suddenly remembered that I existed. He jumped guiltily, starting me from my sleepy reverie and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sorry." He stumbled out of his chair, scratching the back of his head. "Bye, Eiji."   
  
"Later, Miroku." He smiled brightly at me. "Bye, Kagome."   
  
"Nice meeting you," I said politely around my yawn. I fumbled around for a moment, then stood up, swaying ever so slightly. Miroku gave me a curious glance, and I shrugged. "What can I say? I had to drive for seven hours straight.. I'm a bit tired."   
  
"Damn. That musta sucked. Come on, I'll show you to your room."   
  
"You make it sound like a hotel.."   
  
*   
  
When I woke up to Miroku pounding on my door, it was already almost time for dinner. Hojou wasn't here yet, and I wasn't sure if I was pleased or not.   
  
Rubbing my eyes, I opened the door. "Mnuh?"   
  
Okay, so I wasn't quite coherent yet.   
  
"Come on, man, it's dinner!" Miroku so kindly grabbed me by the wrist and literally drug me towards the cafeteria. I sort of shouted-slash-mumbled my protests, which fell completely on deaf ears.   
  
The cafeteria was jam-packed with people, up to the point where some boys were sitting on the floor. I blinked a couple times, partially because I was half asleep, and partially because I thought I was seeing things. Damn. This place was _crowded_.   
  
"Hey, Miroku. We're sitting outside, okay?"   
  
I looked around to try and put a face on the voice, but to no avail. There were just too many people around!   
  
"I already knew that, Kouga. I already got some food for me and Kagome." Once again, I was drug away from the cafeteria, this time to a door I hadn't noticed before. Miroku pushed it open, and shoved me out into the real world.   
  
"Nnn! Bright!!" I shielded my eyes with my hand, only to be shoved again, this times towards a group of silhouettes. Guessing they were the ones I was supposed to go to, I plunked by the nearest person, closing my eyes. I was still sleepy.   
  
"Hey guys! This is Kagome, the new kid I was talking about!"   
  
"He doesn't look like much," a scathing voice was what he got as an answer. My eyes snapped open, and most forms of sleepiness fled my body. Okay, so I kind of half-heartedly opened my eyes, and I was still falling asleep just sitting there.   
  
What filled my line of vision made me wish I had gotten those missed seven hours of sleep, and that I looked like a girl and not a boy.   
  
Sitting in front of me was a boy. Not surprising. But there was only one way to describe this boy, and that was gorgeous. Breathtakingly, amazingly gorgeous. Or at least very pretty. He hand long black hair and almost luminescent blue eyes that seemed to be looking into my very soul, and made me extremely self-conscious.   
  
But...   
  
"Hey! Bear with me, I only got two hours of sleep last night."   
  
...He had something I wanted.   
  
Don't get me wrong, I'm not meaning this in the perverted way. Sure, he most likely had a nice body, but what REALLY got me was his hair. Something that _I_ now lacked, and he had so very much of.   
  
..I was going to kill Grandpa.   
  
"Doesn't matter," the boy snapped. I glared balefully at him. As pretty as he was, his personality just stunk. And that's a major turn-off.   
  
"Hey, Inuyasha, don't be too hard on him. The boy's new," a distinctly _female_ voice admonished. My head swung around to look at the girl.   
  
"Uh.."   
  
"Hst, Kagome. Don't worry about Sango, she goes to the school near here. We're allowed to have girls on campus on weekends and whatnot, but not during school days," Miroku grinned, then put an arm around Sango's shoulders. The pretty girl elbowed him in the ribs, and I blinked.   
  
"What school near here?"   
  
Sango gave me a curious look. "You must be REALLY new here." Then she pointed over her shoulder.   
  
Across the street was a school clearly labeled: St. Bernard's School for Special Girls.   
  
I was going to KILL grandpa.   
  
Sighing in resigned acceptance, I looked around the small group thoughtfully. I considered each person. There were two girls in the group, and three other boys besides Miroku and… well, me. I immediately recognized Eiji, and I already gathered that the pretty boy with long black hair was Inuyasha, and the girl who Miroku had his arms around was Sango, but for the others I hadn't the faintest.   
  
Man, I make a really gay boy.   
  
"Kagome," Miroku said, calling his attention to me. He still had his arms around Sango, and Sango still did not look all to pleased with this arrangement, "meet everyone. Everyone, meet Kagome."   
  
In return to this brief introduction, Miroku received six deadpan looks.   
  
"All right, all right…" He sighed in mock surrender, then pointed to Inuyasha. "Kagome, this is Inuyasha. I told you about him earlier." Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at Miroku, and Miroku shrugged. "Beside him is his girlfriend, Kikyo.   
  
The raised eyebrow turned into an evil glare. "She is not my girlfriend." For a moment, Kikyo looked crestfallen, but then she straightened herself up and looked determined.   
  
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or not. That they were only friends, that is.   
  
"Well, whatever. We'll get into that whole debate later. Anyway, you've already met Eiji, and this gorgeous and luminous young lady is Miss Sango Yukaitarashi." Sango elbowed him again, and he yelped and released her, rubbing his tender ribs and pouting.   
  
Sango shook her head. "Don't mind Priest. He's just a huge pervert."   
  
So _that's_ what Lady Kaede meant…   
  
"And last but definitely not least, the boy sitting beside the lovely Miss Kikyo is Kouga. Don't expect anything nice to come out of this guy's mouth, he's as dense as they get, and has that permanent foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. But it's all just a mask to make himself look cool. He actually gets better grades than me!   
  
Kouga glared at Miroku, but had the decency not to retaliate.   
  
I nodded at each of them in polite greeting, but my eyes never strayed far from them all girl school across the street. _I_ could be there. _I_ could still have my hair! I shot a discreet look at Inuyasha. Hell, I could still have my hair _here_! I reached up and fingered a lock of silky hair that hung at the base of my neck, and suppressed a grimace. Oh, yeah. Grandpa was _going_ to die.   
  
Making a strong face of displeasure, I glanced at the tray of food Miroku had gotten for me. My stomach growled at it, and I blushed.   
  
"Bit hungry?" Sango laughed. I nodded meekly, and she pushed me the untouched tray of food and winked.   
  
"T-thanks," I mumbled out, looking highly embarrassed. I did NOT like the look she was giving me… Grabbing the fork, I shifted uncomfortably at the scrutinizing gazes everyone was giving me. My tummy grumbled again and I gave into its protests, digging in. The food was just like any other cafeteria food; too salty, too tangy, too sweet. But I was too hungry to care.   
  
Hey, I hadn't eaten since yesterday.   
  
"So, Kagome," Sango started conversationally. I glanced at her, mouth full of dry mashed potatoes.   
  
"Mmm?"   
  
"What school did you go to before you came here?"   
  
I swallowed, almost choking. How was I supposed to answer? I went to an all girl school before I went to this all boy school. Yeah, that'd really make a lasting impression with them. About here was where my dormant nervousness sprung to life again.   
  
"I-I went to this school that no one's heard of… it was really, um, small…" Everyone's attention turned to me, expecting the name of the school. Great. "It was called… uh… Shikon High."   
  
Thankfully, the only dubious look I got was from Inuyasha. Or maybe that wasn't something to be thankful about. The guy made me nervous, as if he could easily see through my disguise. I gave him my most charming smile, and he frowned. Thank all the holy beings that's up there that he didn't push it, though.   
  
"You're right, I haven't heard of it," Sango said. She was smiling at me, and my nervousness was now accompanied by a slight amount of fear. I _really_ didn't like how Sango was looking at me.   
  
Kikyo shrugged, idly examining her nails. She buffed it, then gave me a dry look through her long eyelashes. "You must miss all your friends." There was something about her tone that I really didn't like. She sounded too bored for my comfort.   
  
"Well, yeah, of course I do. But I only moved here because it was easier for my mom to… uh… send Souta and me to the same school."   
  
"Souta?" Kouga repeated. "Yo, I think I know him. Young kid, ain't he?"   
  
I nodded quickly, hoping the bought my totally bogus story. Inuyasha was still staring at me with a doubtful expression and I gave him my most innocent look. He snorted quietly and took an elegant bite from his soggy looking sandwich. Now that I think about it, Inuyasha is probably the only person in the world who can make eating a school sandwich elegant. It drove me nuts, and it still does.   
  
"Yeah, he always got these nasty looking bruises on his face. Is he a problem child or something?"   
  
I frowned at Kouga, then smiled nervously at Sango when she edged closer to me. Returning my attention to Kouga, I shook my head. "That's the thing. He really isn't a bad kid, but when he comes home, he's always bruised up." I hunched slightly into myself. "I'm scared for him, kinda. There's someone who's really taking out their anger on him, and I know he doesn't eat much when he comes here. He's always got really bad bruises everywhere, and he's always so skinny…" I let out a deep sigh and stopped talking. Then blinked.   
  
Everyone was staring at me as if I had just spoken a prophecy or something.   
  
"Whaaaat?!"   
  
"Man, you really care about your brother, don't you?" Sango asked. She had a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. I edged a little farther away from her, turning more than slightly pink. Miroku was giving me a strange look, too.   
  
"Well," I cleared my throat, trying to sound more boyish. I had the tendency to switch back to my girl voice, and if I wasn't careful, people were going to start noticing things. "Of course I do. I mean, he is my little brother and stuff…"   
  
"Oh, that's so sweet!"   
  
Blushing _again_, I quickly shoveled more food into my mouth in an excuse not to answer her. Miroku was giving me a look that could only be described as _dirty_. I had a feeling there was more between Sango and Miroku that he was willing to let on. I was going to have to ask him about that. I briefly wondered if I should tell them I liked boys. While I looked like a boy.   
  
Oh, yeah, that'd _really_ sit well with them.   
  
At the moment, I kind of wanted to scream to the world that I was really a girl, and that I did not belong to an all boy school, and that I was really just here because my grandpa sent me here to protect my baby brother. Then what would I do, rip open my shirt to prove _just_ how womanly I was?   
  
Uh huh.   
  
"Hey, Kagome," Miroku said. He was still giving me this strange look, but it didn't exactly look spiteful. That made me feel a little better. "We always hang out at this ice cream shoppé down the street. Wanna come with us today? We should be leaving in a bit…"   
  
I nodded. "Sure, that sounds great!"   
  
Well, if anything, this should be an interesting experience.   
  
-chapter one   
  
  
  
Ahahaha.. I should have the next chapter by sometime around the end of this month. I have finals, so it might take awhile.. u.u;; If not, expect the next chapter early Februrary.   
  
Yes, this will be a Kagome/Inuyasha story. In much later chapters, however.   
  
Things you should know:  
Miroku Priest: Obvious play on his last name.  
Sango Youkaitarashi: I'm pretty sure "youkai tarashi" is the condensed meaning of "demon killer" in Japanese. If I'm wrong, my sincerest apologies.  
There will be Sango/Miroku pairings in later chapters. 


	2. Classes? I don't need no stinkin' class...

"MIROKU PRIEST, KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS ON THE WHEEL!"   
  
Oh, let me tell you, was I a moron to agree with the others. 'Sure,' they told me, 'it's perfectly safe to drive with Miroku. He's a.. good.. driver. Sit in front, will you?' And me, as stupid as I can be sometimes, agreed. _I know Miroku the best out of all of them,_ I reasoned, _if I go with him, then I won't have to feel uncomfortable with sitting in a car full of people I don't know..._   
  
I. Am. Such. An. Idiot.   
  
"REDLIGHTREDLIGHTREDLIGHT--..THAT! WAS! A! RED! LIGHT!.."   
  
So there I was, desperately clutching the armrests for my dear life, as Priest weaved his way through the traffic at break neck speeds. Sango just calmly had her eyes closed, and Kouga looked perfectly relaxed, while I, on the other hand, was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Damn Inuyasha had to take Kikyo and Eiji and didn't have any pity on the new guy!   
  
"SLOW DOOOOWN!"   
  
"Dude, Kagome, relax! I know what I'm doing!"   
  
"LIKE HELL YOU DOOOO--WATCH OUT!"   
  
"Oops.."   
  
"Where the HELL did you get your license?!"   
  
My head hurt.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Two: Classes? I don't need no stinkin' classes!  
by Clara

  
  
  
Inuyasha received the end of a VERY pissed off glare when I entered the ice cream shoppé. In response, he grinned devilishly, which only caused my vexed glare to become all the more dangerous. Calmly, I slid next to him on the booth, folded my still trembling hands on my lap, and closed my eyes. After taking a relaxing, meditative breath, I let out all my tensions.   
  
"IF YOU EVER MAKE ME RIDE IN THE CAR MIROKU IS DRIVING _AGAIN_, I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR ASS!!"   
  
Inuyasha, the pompous asshole, had the audacity to laugh.   
  
"Hey!" Miroku protested. "I drive perfectly! It's all the other morons in the world that don't know how to drive!"   
  
I gave Miroku a _very_ deadpan look at that comment, and he backed away nervously. Figuring that I'd get my revenge on Priest later, I returned my deadly glare to Inuyasha, who was still laughing. He had a very pretty laugh, but that's besides the point.   
  
"Oh, sure, _try_ to get rid of the new gir—_guy_ by sending him on the road with this maniac!" I grumbled, grabbing the menu. "I think I left my stomach back at school..."   
  
"You get used to it," Sango sighed, shaking her head. I favored _her_ with a deadpan look too. She shrugged and slid next to Kikyo across from us, and Kouga sat beside me. Miroku was smart enough to sit as far away as possible from me, thus grabbing a chair and pulling it up to the end of the table.   
  
"Just for subjecting to me to the sheer and utter terror of having to sit in the car YOU drove, you're paying for my food," I informed him, giving him a look that promised much pain if he resisted. Miroku nodded meekly.   
  
Inuyasha grinned at me, and I noticed Kikyo and Sango giving me surprised looks. I'd have to ask them about that, later. "You have no money, do you?" the black haired boy asked.   
  
"Not a single cent."   
  
Inuyasha chuckled again, then shook his head. I threw him a dirty look and opened the menu. Briefly wondering why I was going to eat again right after I ate the stinky cafeteria food, I was struck with a brilliant idea.   
  
"You _are_ going to pay for _our_ food, Miroku," I stated, and he nodded quickly. I think, at the moment, he was terrified of me. "Good!" All smiles again, I waved for the waitress to come take my order. Miroku was staring at me with donning dread, while the others were grinning ever so slightly. "Hi, Miss, me and my friends would like two of everything on this menu."   
  
"TWO?!" the waitress and Miroku chorused. The other people at my table laughed, and Miroku slumped forward, eyes wide.   
  
"Kaa~aaagooomeee!" Miroku pleaded, voice pleading and piteous. "Come ON! I can't afford all that! Do you want me to be working here twenty-four-seven?!"   
  
"Well, through the hell you put me through, yes. Yes I would." He widened his eyes more and pouted, looking utterly ridiculous.   
  
"Come on, it's not like I actually put your life in danger! ...Well, not TOO much danger, that is.. but it's not like you actually got hurt!" I sighed and relented. As much as I hated to admit, he was right.   
  
"Okay, we'll only take as much as he—" I pointed to Miroku, "—can afford."   
  
Miroku blanched. "I.. uh.. only have.."   
  
"—Or I'll beat him up," Sango finished for me, grinning maliciously.   
  
"..enough money to buy half the contents on the menu.."   
  
The waitress gave us all weird looks, then shook her head and walked away, not even bothering to write down our order. I don't think she could have forgotten it if she wanted to, anyway. As the waitress walked away, Eiji returned to our table, looking slightly curious. He was holding a tray of fries and a milkshake.   
  
"Hey, guys?" I almost laughed. He sounded so confused... "Why is Priest all pale and stuff?"   
  
"Kagome conned him into buying half the menu," Kouga informed him, and Eiji looked remorsefully down at his tray.   
  
"Why couldn't you have done that earlier, huh Kagome?" He sighed, then put it in front of a person in some random table. "Here, I bought these for you." He gave them a charming smile, then scooted beside Sango.   
  
"There's only one problem," Kikyo said in her bored tone and held up a finger. "How are we going to eat all this food?"   
  
"Ever the voice of reason," Kouga snorted.   
  
I tossed Kikyo an indifferent look. "Who cares about how we're going to eat all this! Hell, we can just take home some of this stuff in doggy bags, if we want to. The important part is, Miroku's paying for it."   
  
"Speaking of which..." Eiji waved his hand in front of Miroku's face, snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, then shook his head. "Eh, he's in shock."   
  
Kouga examined the three page menu, then grinned at me. "Yeah, I think I would be too..."   
  
Miroku finally snapped out of it a few moments after the waitress returned with our food (it took her four trips). He stared at the monstrous amount of edibles in horror, then turned a very vengeful glare in my direction. In return, I gave him a heart-melting smile.   
  
"I am going to _so_ kill you."   
  
I laughed easily. "Hey, I'll pay you back, okay? Well, at partially.."   
  
Miroku slumped glumly into himself, eyes still on the food. "You better."   
  
Sango gave me one of those looks she had been giving me frequently, and I started to get nervous again. There was something about her that made me feel uncomfortable, as if she knew or suspected something. I hid behind the food once again, grabbing a fork and shoveling some random piece of food into my mouth. It was surprisingly delicious. After swallowing the tasty morsel, I snuck a glance at my pissed off friend. He was staring at the food with a now determined expression on his face, then grabbed my fork.   
  
"Hey!" I watched in surprise as he shoved the piece of food that _I_ was just about to put in my out in his own mouth. "I was just about to eat that!"   
  
He glared at me for a moment, then swallowed. "If I have to pay for this whole mess of food, I'm going to damn well enjoy it."   
  
Sango shook her head, glancing at Inuyasha and Eiji who were both currently attacking the food with very male-like vigor. Kouga was just sitting there, examining each particle of food with sparkling eyes. Kikyo, on the other hand, was eating _gracefully_.   
  
"You know," Sango said, glancing at me with sparkling eyes, "we're going to have the worst stomach aches later..." I just grinned in response.   
  
As it turns out, we ended up taking pity on Miroku. Therefore, Sango, Eiji, and Kouga helped pay for the eye-popping bill. I promised I'd pay them all back marginally, but surprisingly, they didn't ask Kikyo or Inuyasha to help pay.   
  
I had enough sense not to ask.   
  
I shifted from foot to foot as we walked back to the cars. Needless to say, I had refused to let the others even _think_ about letting me in the same car as Miroku again. Miroku had taking this little practical joke I played on him with stride, but I didn't quite like the looks he was giving me while I lugged the doggy bags back to Inuyasha's car. They weren't, per se, dirty, but they did still have that vengeful glint in them that promised something unpleasant. However, since Miroku was a nice and forgiving guy, and since I had gained a new respect from the other's in the group, I replaced Kikyo in Inuyasha's car.   
  
Kikyo did _not_ appreciate this.   
  
"What makes you think _I_ want to stay in that car with this perverted maniac?! I mean, Kagome's the new guy, and I've known you all so much longer than he has... why does _he_ get all the luxuries?"   
  
I ended up running across this argument several times throughout my entire stay at St. Bernard's. Privately, I think it was just an excuse for her to hate me.   
  
"Please, Kikyo," Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "that's part of the reason _why_ we're sticking you in Miroku's car. You've been around long enough to be able to handle his crazy driving."   
  
"But I.." Kikyo was silenced by a dark look coming from Inuyasha's direction, and she slouched over slightly. "All right, all right, I'll go in his stinkin' car..."   
  
I shot a curious glance at Inuyasha, then shrugged and walked over to his vehicle. By some odd chance, I ended up getting the front seat before Eiji did.   
  
I realized something this day too. It wasn't quite new knowledge, but I never fully acknowledged how much it applied to me until I opened my big mouth.   
  
My problem was that I talked too much. And when I talked too much, it was guaranteed I would stick my foot in my mouth as far as it could go. I had the opportunity to practice this feature on the way back to school.   
  
"What's the story behind you and Kikyo?" I asked ever so innocently as I buckled my seatbelt. I guess the question surprised him, because he accidentally jerked the wheel and nearly swerved off the road. Eiji went sprawling across the back seat, bumping his head on the back of my chair.   
  
"Ow! Inuyasha, do that again and I'll.. I'll.. do something unpleasant to you!"   
  
"You should have put on your seatbelt then, dumbass. Watch the food," was Inuyasha's growling response. For a few moments, the only noise in the car was Eiji adjusting himself then clicking in his seatbelt. Then he sighed. "Why do you want to know? Are you interested in her?"   
  
_WHAT?! WHATWHATWHAAAT?!_ Unable to voice my thoughts to him, I snorted instead. "What, her? The girl hates me. And even if she didn't, she's not my type." _She's not a boy._   
  
Inuyasha sighed softly, then shrugged. "There wasn't really anything that happened between us. I've known her for forever, and we decided to try the date scene a couple months ago. That didn't exactly work out, so we went back to being just friends. That's all."   
  
He was lying to me. What did I expect, though? Him flat out telling me all his life problems as if I was an old friend when we've only known each other for less than a day?   
  
The silence in the car was far from comfortable the rest of the trip.   
  
*   
  
When we got back to the school, I immediately decided it was time to seek out my brother and have the long put off chat with him. After all, the reason why I was even _going_ to this school was because of my baby brother, even if he was avoiding me for some odd reason...   
  
I found him after combing the grounds for nearly half an hour. What I saw shocked me.   
  
"Please, please don't, Takeno-sama, I need that money..."   
  
"Tsk, tsk, Souta... are we speaking back to our elders? You know what that means..."   
  
Souta was surrounded by a group of boys that seemed to be around his age or older. They all looked menacing, and one was holding a belt as if it were a weapon. After a moment of belated horror, I realized it was.   
  
The larger boy brought the belt down forcefully against my brother's back, and I opened my mouth in silent empathy when I heard him scream. Tears rose to my eyes when I heard the metal slap powerfully against his back. This hadn't been the first time the boys had hit him in that spot, according to the stain of blood on his shirt.   
  
Shocked to the point where all the blood had drained from my face, I rushed over to the group of kids. The surprise was quickly wearing down to homicidal urges, as I grabbed the kid who had smacked my brother on the back as hard as he could with his belt. Lifting him up so that he was eye level with me, I sneered in a way that even made my brother gasp in surprise.   
  
"_What the hell do you think you're doing to my brother?!_" I literally roared. The younger boy yelped in surprise, then started to tremble badly. Disgusted, horrified, and down right PISSED, I threw the quivering mess down against one of the other boys. The both collapsed to the ground, , then scrambled to their feet as quick as they could, running as if hell were at their heels. Which was actually the most accurate description, what with how I felt at the moment. The other boys took the cue and stumbled away too, either running for their lives or glancing back in surprise.   
  
I fell to my knees next to Souta, and gathered him up in my arms, anger draining away from my still tense form. He trembled against me, body lax. After a few moments of me gently rocking him as mother would have done, he started to cry, first lightly, then powerful sobs that wracked his bruised frame.   
  
When he finally started to calm down, I carefully picked him up. Blood stained my crisp shirt, but the only thing that horrified me about that was that it was my brother's. "Come on, Souta. Let's get you to the nurse."   
  
*   
  
When I finally got back to the dorm it was already past eleven and I had classes tomorrow. However, the knowledge that my brother was going to be okay and that he was going to be relocating to a different wing of the school until he healed was enough to make forget my fatigue a bit. Even though I was nearly falling over from exhaustion and post shock.   
  
When I finally entered the dorm room, though, the sight that greeted me completely threw me off whack from my already unbalanced day.   
  
My room was a mess.   
  
Blinking a few times, I picked my way around a pile of clothing, and looked around to find the source of the catastrophe. All I found was posters of many different types of bands littering my once immaculate walls, clothes strewn everywhere (including MY bed), and a teenage boy lying in the middle of his bed with a pair of headphones over his ears. I looked at him tiredly.   
  
Oh, this was good.   
  
Sitting carefully on my bed after tossing his clothes from it, I picked up the folder that Miroku had been carrying around when he was giving me the short tour. The very first thing on the small pile of papers was my classes. I sighed, and shuffled through a couple ads and various other papers I wouldn't need, then looked back at my classes. Most of my classes were advanced since my old school had been just as demanding and prestigious as this one. My only problem area was math. As it was, I would be taking Algebra 2, instead of Trigonometry or Calculus.   
  
I sighed and placed my papers to the side, resting my face on the palm of my hand and looking out the window. I wasn't entirely afraid for my classes, anyway. I mean, how would this get me into a good college, anyway? 'Young Miss Kagome Higurashi spent most of her life attending an all girl school until she reached Junior year, where she transferred to St. Bernard's School for Special Boys in order to protect her baby brother. As high-ranking as this school may be, it is, in fact, an all-boy school.'   
  
Yeah, that'd really get me into a good college.   
  
Closing my eyes, I drifted off into a half-doze while I ignored the now sleeping slob who I had presumed was Hojou. School wasn't the only problem that had presented itself in these past hours. Now I had to worry even more about my brother. I had always known that someone had been beating him, but I didn't know to what extent. And it made me wonder exactly why they were beating him. What happened? And..   
  
Suddenly, I shot up to a sitting position, wide awake. I reached over and grabbed my folder, then thumbed through the papers frantically until I found my classes.   
  
I had P.E.!   
  
Groaning, I lay back down and grabbed my pillow, pulling it over my face in hopes of smothering myself. _I am so very, very screwed, I am so very, very screwed..._ was my mantra as I fell into a more deep, yet highly troubled sleep.   
  
*   
  
When I woke up the next morning, it was too my insane roommate throwing gods know what at my sleeping form. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then glared dangerously at the light haired boy sitting on his own bed.   
  
"G'morning! I'm Hojou Hajemu. You must be Kagome," Hojou said, then grinned brightly. I groaned my affirmative answer. How on earth could anybody be so _awake_ at this time of the day? "Sorry, but I didn't want you to sleep through your first classes. It gives a bad impression."   
  
I stared at him blankly for a moment, then swung myself out of bed, frantically. "Oh, no! Classes!" I grabbed my bag and quickly drug it to the bathroom, already starting to unbutton my shirt with one hand. "I still need to take a shower!"   
  
"Woah, woah, woah! Relax, Kagome." He waved his hands at my mad dash towards the bathroom. I didn't turn to him, since my shirt was already halfway unbuttoned, and my.. well, womanly attributes were halfway exposed. They were bound, of course, but they were pretty damn obvious. "We start classes at eight, and it's only seven. You have an hour to get ready."   
  
I threw a dry look at Hojou, carefully keeping my front away from his view. My ears were bright red. "Well, THANKS!" I stormed into the bathroom anyway, shutting the door and locking it behind me. Might as well get ready now, anyway... I sighed and pulled off my shirt the rest of the way, reaching over to the faucet to turn it on as hot as it could go. A nice, long, hot shower might chase away all my stresses. I hoped.   
  
"You're welcome!" he shouted back through the door, sounding pleased. I blinked several times. Was this guy for real?   
  
After I finished my relaxing shower and drying myself off completely, I pulled on the black uniform the school had provided me. It was a size too large for me, since boys my age generally weren't as small as me, but that was actually perfect. Baggy clothes meant I could hide my figure better.   
  
I walked out of the bathroom, towel drying my still damp hair, then stopped in mid step. There was Miroku, sitting on my bed and glaring daggers at Hojou. Hojou obliviously got ready, completely unaware of the evil glances Miroku kept shooting at him.   
  
"Oi, Kagome!" Miroku called, holding up my folder when he finally noticed I was there. His spiteful look was replaced by a more friendly one. "I came here to show you to your classes, just in case. Lady Kaede threatened me with a detention when I told her I forgot to show you which class was which and just showed you around the campus..." I blinked incomprehensibly for a few moments, draping my towel around my shoulders. Miroku grinned at me, then dropped the folder on his lap and pulled out my classes, then pulled out his classes from out of no where. "Hey, we have Algebra and Advanced art together... I think you have P.E. with Inuyasha and Eiji. Cool. Anyway, are you going to the festival tomorrow?"   
  
"What festival?" was my oh-so-intelligent answer.   
  
"Oi, did you even look at these ads?" Miroku opened my folder again, then pulled out a neon green paper. He handed it over to me.   
  
"'Beginning of the year festival'?" I read. "September second... collaborated festival between the two St. Bernard's School's..." I stopped reading for a moment, then glanced at Miroku. "Hey, we do all this stuff with the all girl's school.. why don't they just come together and become one coed school?"   
  
Miroku shrugged. "They've been talking about it, but most of the students have argued against it, surprisingly. I guess old habits die hard." He was glaring at something behind me, and I blinked and turned around, almost running into Hojou.   
  
"Ack..."   
  
Hojou plucked the paper out of my hand and looked over it quickly. "Oh, that's good. I was wondering when they would have this year's festival. Maybe I'll finally work up enough courage to ask Sango-san to join me, this year..."   
  
The temperature of the room dropped several degrees from Miroku's icy glare.   
  
Oh. That's why Miroku hated Hojou so much... I smirked lightly to myself. How cute.   
  
Still giving Hojou a look that could freeze fire, Miroku reached over and grabbed me by the wrist. With his other hand, he snatched the paper from the other boy's hand, then started to drag me out of the room. In which he dragged me towards what I had a feeling was my first class.   
  
"Of all the nerve," Miroku started of what promised to be a long rant. "How dare he even _think_ about asking Sango to the school festival?! I ought to.. to.." He stopped, obviously trying to think of something horrendously bad to do to Hojou. But since he stopped walking while he was dragging me by the wrist, I ran into his back rather forcefully.   
  
The dummy didn't even notice, he was so engrossed with thinking up evil things to do to Hojou. What's worse, he didn't let go of my arm. And in his anger, his grip was getting tighter and tighter..   
  
"Oi, Miroku..?"   
  
"..I'm going to hurt him, that's what I'm going to do!" At this proud proclamation, he continued stomping towards his destination, still gripping my wrist hard enough to most likely leave a bruise. I grit my teeth together. "What makes him think that Sango would want to go out with the likes of him?!"   
  
"..Miroku.."   
  
"She's way too good for him! I swear, the guy is such a moron! ..Hell, she's way too good for me.."   
  
"MIROKU PRIEST, STOP WALKING THIS INSTANT!"   
  
Shocked from his angry rant, he finally _did_ stop, giving me a perplexed look. Taking a deep breath, I favored him with a dirty look.   
  
"As much as I'd love to hear your angry rant about your love-life with Sango, Miroku..." I carefully pried my wrist from his death-grip. "..I don't have my books."   
  
"Oh. Oops!"   
  
Muttering something about stupid love-sick school boys, I turned the tables, grabbing my guide by his wrist and stomping back to my dorm.   
  
By the time I finally got to my first class, I had no more time to spare. Slumping into one of the desks farthest from the board, I opened my AP US History book and stood it in front of my face, hiding behind it. Why? I'm not entirely sure. I just liked the thought of having this odd type of protection around me.   
  
Granted, this protection didn't last very long, especially when a certain boy with long black hair knocked it over.   
  
"My mistake," Inuyasha said with feigned innocence. "Sorry, didn't see that there!" He took the seat next to me, and I shot him a dirty glare over the large book, which was now resting on the bridge of my nose. He just grinned in response. "Lemme see your class list."   
  
Still not taking the book from my nose, I opened the folder with all my school junk in it, then handed him the small slip of paper that had all my classes on it. He looked it over. "Hey. We have P.E., Physics, Psyche, and this class together..."   
  
I glanced at him again, then grabbed my book and hid my face from him completely. Great. We had P.E. together. I sighed deeply and prayed that my book would swallow me whole. That means that.. that..   
  
Well, if anything happened, then he would be the first to know just how much I was NOT a man.   
  
I could feel him giving my neck an odd look (since that was the closest thing to my face he could see), but I was saved from having to comment by the sharp ring of the late bell. I dropped my book just in time to see an old midget walk in. This guy was SHORT. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. He was shorter than Souta, and looked as if he barely made it past two feet tall. The minute man walked over to a desk that was taller than him, walked behind it, then pushed a stool (that was once again taller than him), in the front of the room. With one agile leap, he jumped on top of the stool and gave everyone a dry look.   
  
"My name is Professor Myouga. If anyone makes one comment about my height, bad OR good, it's an automatic detention." About twenty mouths shut at this. "I will be your teacher in AP US History. This is not an easy course, and it does indeed go by very quickly." He leapt off the stool gracefully, then bounced over to his desk and hopped on the chair. Standing on a stack of books that were conveniently placed on the cushion, he reached over and grabbed a stack of papers.   
  
The he did the most amusing thing I'd have seen in awhile.   
  
Passing out the papers was tedious as it is when you're normal height, but when you just reach the two-feet-tall line, it's nearly impossible. Granted, you don't have to worry about dodging desks, chairs, and people when you're midget-sized, since you can just go under them, but there's always the problem of getting the paper _on_ the desk. I suppose since Professor Myouga had apparently been teaching for so long, he had devised a full proof way to solve this little problem.   
  
His way was to jump high enough, then toss the paper on the desk.   
  
I found myself hiding against my book again, this time to cover the giggles I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back. Inuyasha had a violent fake coughing attack, while the other students just flat out laughed. Professor Myouga ignored the laughter, however, which led me to once again believe he had been teaching here for a long time. He seemed to respond to the students chuckling at him as an everyday occurrence.   
  
I thought this over a couple times, then just shook my head.   
  
Professor Myouga once again returned to his stool, then waited patiently until we stopped laughing. After the class settled down, he favored each and every one of us with deadpan looks. "What I just handed out to you is basically an outline of this entire school year. Lose that, and, well, you're screwed. Included in that packet is how I grade, what you need for this class, and the dates for every test I will be giving. The reason why I have included all the tests and dates is so you kids won't use the excuse of me not telling you about the test to try and skip it. If you will open your packet to page eight..."   
  
About here is where I tuned him out.   
  
*   
  
My next class ended up being P.E., so I walked with Inuyasha to the gym. That was perfectly fine, however, since I knew that if I had attempted walking their on my own, I would have gotten lost faster than it would take me to get there. As we walked there, I dragged each foot against the ground, in hopes of prolonging the journey from class to class.   
  
It didn't take Inuyasha long to notice my slow pace.   
  
"Hey, what gives, Kagome?" He frowned in slight accusation at me. "I thought you liked sports? I mean, you did say you've been playing baseball since you could walk..."   
  
Ah. Miroku had been buttering Inuyasha up to get me on the team. I frowned back at him, running my fingers through my hair on instinct. "It's not that... it's just that I... well..." I frowned at the gym doors in front of me. Oh well, might as well get it over with. Getting a set look on my face, I walked determinedly through the door, shifting the small bundle of clothes in my arms. At least they offered sweats in this program. I had decidedly feminine legs for obvious reasons, and although I doubt that would have given away my horrid secret, I'd have rather gone without the crude teasing I knew I would be subjected to if I wore shorts. I was lucky when it came to that.   
  
Showering, on the other hand...   
  
The gym was a relatively large room, well, at least large enough to fit two full sized basketball courts, complete with several basketball hoops. Surprisingly, on the wall farthest to us was a long, neat row of targets. Inuyasha and I walked up to a group of the students who were already ready, then blinked at them.   
  
"Hey, Riiko, what's all these targets for?"   
  
A short boy with a shock of red hair blinked up at Inuyasha in surprise. "Uh.. uh.. I-Inuyasha-sempai, th-they're for ar-archery..." The poor kid sounded absolutely horrified, and I glanced back at Inuyasha. He was wearing a faintly annoyed expression on his face. "S-sorry, Inuyasha-sempai!" The kid bowed repeatedly, then hurried off to another group of kids. I could swear I heard him say "he talked to meee!". Inuyasha shrugged helplessly at my slightly bemused look.   
  
"Well, it _is_ an all boy school..."   
  
For a moment, I didn't completely comprehend what he meant. Until, of course, I thought about it. Eyes wide, I nodded slowly. "Oh." That's all I could say. I mean, I had nothing against the gender preference of the boys that went here, since a good friend of mine _was_ bisexual, but it did kind of... surprise me. Not his sexuality preference, but how Inuyasha was taking it. He seemed only slightly annoyed at the fact that Riiko had a crush on him. There was no disgusted looks, no sneers, no fury... just the same annoyance he got on his face when Kikyo made those lovey-faces at him. My opinion of him rose tentatively higher. Actually, it sky-rocketed. There was just something about an open-minded guy that I adored.   
  
I decided to open my big mouth, anyway. "Um, are you...?"   
  
"No." He offered me a dry look. "I just don't care what swings other people's boats, but I prefer girls, myself." He blinked at me. "What about you?"   
  
"Straight," was my curt answer. I wasn't about to go into a detailed answer like he had, since I _did_ like boys, and I, at the moment, _was_ a boy. I grinned crookedly at him. "That's cool, though."   
  
He didn't have enough time to answer me, as a female teacher had walked into the room. She glanced at all the students carefully, then reached Inuyasha and me and sighed. The teacher pointed over her shoulder at what I presumed was the dressing rooms.   
  
I looked down at my body. Oops. I was still wearing my uniform.   
  
When Inuyasha and I got to the locker room, I headed straight for one of the dressing stalls. Although I knew Inuyasha was giving me an odd look because of this, I didn't care. As long as he didn't ask any awkward questions. Sighing, I clicked the lock in place and changed quickly, then left the privacy of my stall.   
  
"Hey Inuyasha, are..." I choked on the rest of the sentence. There were some things about guys that I really liked. One was their personalities. Another was their smiles. But one of the main things I liked about guys were their backs. Backs were nice. Especially toned, just-muscular-enough backs like the one I was drooling over. Inuyasha had his front facing away from me and was currently pulling off his shirt, revealing his tantalizing back with lovely obviousness. I wouldn't mind running my fingers down _that_ back, any day...   
  
Lord almighty, I _squeaked_.   
  
Turning bright red at my chain of thoughts, I quickly ducked back into the stall I had dressed in. _Okay, girl, you've got to get a grip on yourself. You're a boy right now, remember? Keep your damn cool!_ I rubbed my cheeks until they returned to their natural color, then walked back out, looking slightly embarrassed. Luckily, Inuyasha hadn't seen me, and apparently hadn't heard my unfinished sentence or squeak. "U-uh, hey, are you done?"   
  
The black haired boy turned around, then grinned down at me and nodded. Unexpectedly, my heart skipped a beat.   
  
Oh, my. What I had here was a situation.   
  
*   
  
P.E. was _fun_. That's the only way I'll ever be willing to describe it. I had always been an athletic girl, so of course, my favorite period was P.E. It was probably going to be even more fun since I was now pretending to be a boy. Less limitations, more checking and pushing and shoving and fun! Not only _that_, but now the boys wouldn't treat me as if I were made of glass.   
  
We did archery that day. I have never done archery before, let alone even hold a bow and arrow.   
  
"Beginners, please raise your hands," Miss Okiku ordered. I, along with half the class, raised my hand. Inuyasha's hands remained firmly on his bow that the teacher had passed to each student earlier. "Right, there's quite a bit of you, this time. Please, move to the left away from the ones who have already been introduced to the bow and arrow.   
  
"Archery is _not_ a simple sport, as you will soon grow to realize," Miss Okiku explained. "It requires lithe strength, a sharp eye, and sheer flexibility. You must be able to see the target from many feet away, while at the same time shoot it as fast as you can, in case it may be a moving target." Miss Okiku walked over to me and handed me two arrows. "These arrows are not sharp enough to puncture the skin, granted, but please do not shoot them at each other, or expect a Saturday detention. Kagome, will you please attempt to shoot the target?"   
  
..Attempt to?   
  
I glanced at the teacher for a long moment, slightly confused. She smiled and nodded encouragingly, and I shrugged. Miss Okiku quickly showed me how to hold and position the arrow, then watched me expectantly.   
  
I pulled my arrow back and let it fly.   
  
TWOCK!   
  
Several people in the crowd murmured in surprise. The arrow had hit smack-dab in the center of the bulls-eye on my target. The teacher gasped, and I got nervous. They wouldn't think I was lying to them, would they? I gave Miss Okiku a weak smile. "Beginners luck?"   
  
"I-it must be, but I have to say, I've never seen a beginner with so much luck before. Please, shoot the other arrow."   
  
I glanced back at the target, pulled back the arrow, then once again let it fly.   
  
SCCRIIIK! TWOCK!   
  
This time, there were startled gasps of surprise. Nervously, I glanced at the teacher. She actually looked _pale_. I started to sweat slightly at the back of my neck and the palms of my hands. My eyes found their way back to my target.   
  
The arrow I had just let fly had split my first arrow in half, right down the center.   
  
"T-the arrows s-shouldn't be able to do that..." Miss Okiku stuttered. "Please, K-Kagome, shoot again. This time, aim for the circle outside of the bulls-eye, at the top." She handed me another arrow.   
  
I did what she said. TWOCK! It embedded itself directly above the other arrows.   
  
I was standing, at the least, sixty feet away from my target. Not to mention, it was the very first time I had ever even held a bow and arrow in my life.   
  
Doubtful they would believe _that_, though...   
  
I didn't get to explain that to Miss Okiku that day, though. As soon as my third arrow had hit it's mark, a droning lady's voice spoke over the intercom.   
  
"Kagome Higurashi, will you please come to the infirmary immediately? You are excused from the rest of your classes for the day. Once again, urgent, Kagome Higurashi to the infirmary..."   
  
Dropping the bow, I grinned sheepishly at the teacher, then shrugged at Inuyasha's doubly shocked glance. "Sorry, Miss Okiku, but I really _haven't_ ever held a bow an arrow before. I don't know why this came to me so easily. Maybe it's just a talent?" I shrugged, then shot an easy grin at the still surprised Inuyasha. "Later, Inu." With that, I jogged back to the dressing rooms.   
  
Them calling me like so to the infirmary only meant one thing. There was something wrong with Souta.   
  
That thought alone made me terrified.   
  
..::end chapter two::..   
  
  
  
_Up next, Kagome and the gang run to a new, rather interesting kind of problem at the festival. How will they handle it? But first, what's wrong with Souta? Why did they have to call Kagome so urgently out of her favorite class? And does Sango _really_ have a crush on Kagome, or is it something else?_   
  
Is today considered the end of the month? I know, I know, I said I would be putting it out much later, but I gave up on studying earlier today, and was able to finish this chapter. The _third_ chapter should be out by the end of this month, or early February. ^^; 


	3. What we have here is a situation!

AN: Careful, there's some angst, dare I say, drama, in this chapter. Don't worry, though. ^^; It's not all drama/angst. Just the first part.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Three: What we have here is a situation!  
by Clara

  
  
"Mr. Kagome Higurashi, we have called you to the infirmary for a reason." The principal paced around the large room, looking slightly nervous. "You're brother has several contusions and cuts, not to mention the horrid welts he has running across the length of his back. We've also noticed many old scars littering his torso." The nurse stopped suddenly, then kneeled in front of my chair, looking me in the eyes as if I were some type of child.   
  
"Answer me truthfully," the man took a deep breath. "Do.. your parents abuse you?"   
  
I blanched. _What did he just ask me?_   
  
"I-I don't just mean physical abuse, mind you... there are other types of abuse..."   
  
I, surprisingly, kept my cool. The guy was only looking for the best of our behalves, after all... "No, my mom and grandpa don't abuse us." I gave the man a level look. "I have noticed the other kids at this school hitting him, though..."   
  
"Well, now, you have to understand that that's just child's play!" the principal said nervously. Or maybe he wasn't looking so much to our behalves...   
  
He stood up, starting to pace again. I could almost read what was on his mind. 'This could become a whole legal dispute,' he would say, 'he might sue us!'   
  
"Look, mister, the fact is, it's not just child's play anymore. You yourself questioned the amount of past and present injuries my brother has, and now you're saying it's child's play?!" My voice held barely restrained anger now as I clenched my hands around the armrests, much like I had when Miroku had drove me to the ice cream shoppé. Only this time, I wasn't terrified for my life. I was terrified for my brother's. "If this continues, then it won't be bruises anymore. It'll be broken bones. And after broken bones, who knows what's going to happen! Part of the reason why I joined this school was for its well-known prestige, but the main reason was because of my brother." I stood up slowly, brushing my dark bangs from my forehead. "I don't want to get into the legal matters, but how do you think it would look to the world if this was brought up to the media? People will automatically think that this school is unsafe to go to, and not only stop sending their kids to it, but actually start taking their kids out as well! Sir, I don't want this to become a large thing, but if my brother continues to receive these beatings, then I will have no choice but to bring this matter up to the police."   
  
The man turned pallid, and he stopped, sitting heavily in a chair across from me. He dropped his head in his hands, looking for a moment broken. Letting out a deep sigh, he returned his gaze to my face. "I understand why you are so angry about this." He smirked weakly. "I even understand why he didn't immediately come to us about this problem." He sighed, then ran his fingers through his thinning hair. "I've been the principal in this school for several years now, and we have come across matters like this, if not more severe." He nodded to me slightly. "At the next board meeting, I will bring up this topic. You may visit your brother now."   
  
That was an excuse if I ever heard one.   
  
I bowed slightly to the tired looking man, then left the big room into a slightly smaller one. My brother was lying in the only bed in the room, eyes closed and apparently asleep. The sheets were drawn up to his back, tucked underneath the nape of his neck, protecting his small frame to the world. Carefully, I shut the door behind me, then walked to my brother's side. Right as the door clicked into place, my brother's eyes opened.   
  
"K-Kagome?" he asked, voice ridden with sleep. I dragged up a chair to his side, sitting down beside him, then dropped my boy-voice.   
  
"Hey there, Squirt. How're you feeling?" I asked, reaching over and carefully brushing his bangs from his forehead. He gave me a weak smile.   
  
"Like shit."   
  
"Hst!" I admonished, frowning. "Watch you're language—you're only twelve."   
  
Souta carefully and painfully pushed himself up, then launched himself unceremoniously off the bed and into my arms. He buried his face in my shoulder, hugging me tightly. I sat there in surprise for a few moments, before I returned his hug, aware of his tattered back. He pulled back after a few moments, reddening slightly from his unusual display of emotions.   
  
"Thanks, Kag-ga." I smiled slightly at his old nickname for me. He frowned slightly after carefully setting himself back into the bed, then closed his eyes in the most serious manner I've ever seen on him. "I s'ppose you realize now that a lot of kids here don't like me, and, in fact, take out their anger on me."   
  
"Yeah, I kinda realized that," was my answer. "Why, though? Why do they do that to you, Souta?"   
  
Souta shrugged lightly, then winced as the large white bandage moved with his shoulders. "Well, Takeno just hates me for some reason. I think part of it is cuz me and Rin and Mayu are such good friends, and Takeno had the biggest crush on the two girls for awhile. I really don't know why, though. They treat another good friend of mine like this, too." He sighed, then shook his head. "I don't see why you had to come all the way down here, though. I can handle myself!"   
  
I gave my brother a dark look, and he shrugged. I could tell he didn't want to talk about this anymore, because he immediately changed the subject. "Hey. Are you going to the festival?"   
  
"Most likely," I answered. "I'll probably be going with Miroku and Inuyasha and Eiji and Kouga, along with a couple of the girls from the other school."   
  
Souta shook his head in slight disbelief. "I can't figure out how you so quickly made friends with some of the most popular guys in school." Then he blinked. "Hey, that reminds me. Why _didn't_ you just go to the all girl school across the street?"   
  
I narrowed my eyes, cracking my knuckles dangerously. "_That_ you have to ask the old man. After I punt him sky-high, that is..."   
  
Souta grinned broadly.   
  
*   
  
"Kagome! Wait up!"   
  
I stopped in the middle of the hall, turning around to face the Miroku who was running towards me a bit too fast for comfort. He ran like he drove, dodging around people or other inanimant objects. He had a couple close calls, and tripped over Professor Myouga _twice_. I'm not entirely sure how he did that, but the old teacher just sighed and continued on his way, most likely used to the rough treatment. "Hey, Kag! Where were you during Art? No wait, duh, you were at the infirmary. The question is... _why_?"   
  
Surprisingly, Miroku managed to shout out this question while careening down the hall. Right as he said the last word, however, he slammed on the breaks and skid in front of me, nearly bowling me over. He over-balanced, then fell on his butt. "Oi!"   
  
I sighed down at him in exasperation, and he just looked up at me with these big, questioning eyes. Letting out a groan of slightly exasperation, I grabbed his shoulder and hefted him up. "I'll tell you why, later. I'm still a bit ticked about it..."   
  
Miroku nodded, respecting my plea for privacy. "Hey, hey! The festival's tomorrow! Are you going to bring a girl?" Being as he was, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. I rolled my eyes.   
  
"Since I know SO many girls around here..." I said sarcastically, then nudged him in the shoulder. "What about you? Finally gunna work up the nerve to ask Sango or just continue groping her? She might file for sexual harassment..."   
  
Priest stuck his tongue out at me. "Hush, you. Anyway, our group never goes as dates. Inuyasha and Kikyo tried that scene a while back, and you don't even _want_ to know how that turned out."   
  
_Oh, believe me, I do.._ "Whatever. Anyway, when is the festival, and what time is it right now?"   
  
"Well, it's already eight, and the others are already gone. But since I was such a good friend, I stayed and waited for you." For a moment, I thought he actually sounded kind of despaired. Then, well, it clicked. He stayed because he wanted to know why I got called away. Dummy. "We don't have any classes tomorrow, can you believe it?! I'm so glad Lady Kaede became the dean—she's always thinking up these awesome treats for us. We didn't get anything like this when the grouchy Mr. Haimitsu was the dean..."   
  
I somehow managed to derive from his worthless babble that the festival was going to start at the beginning of the day when third period normally began and lasted until the end of the day. The end of the day meaning around five p.m. He informed me that it was going to be just like a normal carnival, completely with the rides and the too-salty, too-sweet food and cheesy magic acts.   
  
"Don't get me wrong," he said reassuringly. "The beginning of the year festival is the best part of the year! It's so damn fun..."   
  
And here began yet another chatter session with Miroku Priest as we walked.. somewhere. I wasn't entirely sure at the time. So what did I do? I asked, of course.   
  
"Hey, Miroku, where're we going?"   
  
For a moment, my friend looked positively evil. Complete with the devil horns and the pitch fork, and the nasty little scheming smile. I gulped nervously.   
  
"Why, where we always go!" The evil look became more pronounced, and I could almost imagine the little poison skulls flying around his head. Okay, I was scared now.. "To the ice cream shoppé." I gave him a nervous look, waiting anxiously for him to continue, but at the same time, dreading it. "But the thing is, since it took you _soooo_ long to return, and the other's already left.."   
  
Oh no.   
  
"I'm.."   
  
Oh God Almighty please have mercy on me.   
  
"..driving."   
  
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!   
  
*   
  
By some miracle, by some odd chance, we got to the ice cream shoppé in one piece. Don't get me wrong, this does _not_ mean that Miroku was driving any better. Not a chance. In fact, being that he was probably still annoyed at me for playing that ("low down stinkin' no good bloody") trick on him, that he drove about ten times _worse_ than usual! I swear to you, I had replayed my entire life throughout that frightening car ride..   
  
Almost before Miroku slammed forcefully on the breaks and put the car in park, I flew from the vehicle and into the ice cream shoppé, throwing the door open and hiding behind... well... Sango.   
  
"I thought you guys liked me.." I whimpered pathetically, trembling from head to foot. Sango glanced at me over her shoulder and blinked, while my other "friends", laughed.   
  
"Oi, Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, snagging a fry from Kouga's tray and munching on it. The dark haired boy glared viciously at Inuyasha, the protected his tray by setting up his menu around it.   
  
Still hiding behind Sango like a coward, I shot Inuyasha a dark, accusing look.   
  
"Sure," I muttered. "It'd be a lot easier just to outright tell me you hated me, instead of trying to KILL ME!"   
  
Inuyasha choked on the fry he had stolen from Kouga, part laughter and part from.. well, surprise, I suppose. I glared at him, willing my eyes to inform them that it he died from choking on that fry, I wouldn't grieve. In fact, I would celebrate. I had no such luck, though. Eiji dislodged the food from his throat by solidly whacking him on the back between his shoulder blades.   
  
Miroku walked in a few moments later, grinning like the Cheshire cat and looking immensely pleased with himself. Sango, I'm sure, was still confused at the odd behavior we were expressing. Either that, or resigned. Good old Sango, always the most level headed in the bunch. _That is.._ I edged away from her, then took the only empty seat, which, fatefully (or would that be fatally?), was beside Kikyo. She ignored me. I didn't mind.   
  
And thus, another day as a boy ended.   
  
I wondered how long I'd survive.   
  
If trying to keep attraction unnoticed by a certain black haired boy didn't kill me, then Miroku's driving should.   
  
*   
  
"KAAAAAAAAA~GOOOOOOOO~MEEEEEEEE!!!!"   
  
"KYAAAA!!"   
  
Needless to say, I half-fell rather gracelessly from my bed. Somehow, in the middle of the large jump due to the extremely LOUD wake up call, my legs got tangled in my sheets. So when I fell from the bed, half of me stayed on, and the other half ended up sprawled in a mess across the dirty floor. Unfortunately, this half contained my head.   
  
"Nnn.." I plucked something undefinable from my hair, then glared dangerously and the upside down grinning moron. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, looking as gleeful as a pixie. I wanted to claw his eyes out. "Could we be a LITTLE more subtle?" I was sarcastic. When I say sarcastic, I mean bitterly, wrathfully, furiously, _caustically_ sarcastic.   
  
He completely missed this, of course, and just continued to grin blissfully. "Sorry, Kagome-kun! I just didn't want you to miss your first "Beginning of the Year" festival!"   
  
Hojou doesn't learn. That's obvious. What's probably not so obvious is that _I_ don't learn either. "Omigod!" I managed to fit those three words into one single word, then kind of did a back somersault-twist. It was painful, as my legs were still tangled in my sheets. Therefore, I ended up dragging my entire bed-covering, mattress included, off my bed and on top of my legs. "I'm going to be late! Priest is gunna KILL me!" I reached underneath my mattress and attempted to free myself from my confinements.   
  
"Hoi! Kagome, don't worry! We still have two more hours until the festival actually starts.."   
  
I stared at him in disbelief for a few moments, still half under my mattress. "YOU WOKE ME UP TO TELL ME THAT?!"   
  
Innocent grin.   
  
There were times I wondered if Hojou is as moronic as he led people on to be. This was one of them. What if he just wanted to make the innocent people of St. Bernard's School for Special Boys a living hell? Maybe he had some bitter resentment towards the school. Maybe he never originally _wanted_ to go to this school, and had wanted to be home-schooled so he could be secluded in a basement with only cockroaches as his friends!   
  
Okay, so I was a little bitter. Maybe he really was just a moron.   
  
"I am going back to sleep," I informed him tightly, then pulled the mattress up all the way over my head. I won't even sicken you and tell you just what was on the floor that I was currently lying on.   
  
"On the floor?" Hojou asked, appalled. "Kagome-kun, that must be uncomfor—"   
  
"Hojou?"   
  
"Yes, Kagome-kun?"   
  
"Shut. Up."   
  
"Yes, Kagome-kun.."   
  
I woke up an hour and a half later to someone jumping cheerfully on my stomach, on top of the mattress I was using as a blanket. This person was _heavy_. Well, considering my state of mind at the moment, heavy meant around the 130-140 pounds. It wasn't hard to deduct that the person who was jumping up and down on top of me was Miroku, since after the third jump he started singing a Tom Petty song, and it was pretty damn obvious _who's_ voice it was. Being that it _was_ Miroku, I wisely decided to comment on his weight problem whilst he crushed several of my ribs into oblivion.   
  
"Ugh... we better... ack, my ribs.. stop going to the ice cream sho--WATCH THAT KNEE!--ppé.. because DAMN, Miroku.. OWWWW!!!.. YOU'RE GETTING _FAT!!!_"   
  
Miroku stopped bouncing, then practiced the WWF Smackdown on me. I yelped, muttering all sorts of colorful curses and four letter words, then glared dangerously at the brightly smiling boy.   
  
"You're as bad as Hojou," was my biting remark. He smothered me with a pillow.   
  
"Do not speak the blasphemous name!"   
  
I muttered something incomprehensible, even to my ears. I'm not sure exactly what I said, but I know it wasn't suitable for even the most vicious of sailors. My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I have a potty mouth. Well, ever since I became a boy.   
  
After a while of struggling to breathe, due to the fact that Miroku was sitting on my solar plexus AND had the pillow on top of my face, I decided that, well, I was uncomfortable. So, somehow, I rolled out from underneath him and the mattress, then glared at him for all I was worth.   
  
He grinned innocently.   
  
I spat something very unwoman like (which is fine, seeing that I was a man at the time), then stood completely to my feet, wincing slightly. I was going to have some nasty looking bruises tomorrow.   
  
"I'm going to go get changed," I grumbled, grabbing my bag and a pillow. "Make my bed, will ya?"   
  
With that, I threw the pillow I was holding against his face. Since he wasn't expecting it, it smacked him right on the nose.   
  
"Kaaaa~gooommeeee!!"   
  
I walked out a few minutes later, face freshly scrubbed clean, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a large, baggy sweatshirt. The dummy Miroku was sitting on my mattress, which was still on the floor. I mock-pouted at him.   
  
"I thought you were going to make my bed!"   
  
"Bull crap!" was Miroku's so sophisticated answer. "Come on, we gotta go."   
  
Once again, I was subjected to Miroku Express as he dragged me through one of the many halls. I sighed and resigned myself to fate. Nothing was normal when it came to Miroku, anyway.   
  
While he dragged me towards the front of the school, Miroku informed me that I wouldn't have to worry about his wild driving, since the festival was only a few blocks from our school and we would be walking. At this, I let out a sigh of relief, and in turn received an elbow to my gut. Stupid Miroku.   
  
*   
  
We met Kikyo and Sango at the front of the festival instead of at their school. I'm not entirely sure why, but I had no objections. Apparently, I made a decently attractive boy, according to the looks I was getting from some of the girls. That, mind you, was HIGHLY disturbing and just as embarrassing.   
  
Me, though, I was ignoring everyone around me, and instead was just staring at the festival with wide eyes. I hadn't been in a festival for years, ever since I was five, actually. My family had a blast reminiscing about that story, actually. I guess I had taken one of those mallets that they use for those strength tests and started chasing around one of the clowns who had startled me, causing me to drop my cotton candy. That had been my first and last time. 'Once was enough,' mom had said.   
  
So, granted, I was filled with that childish excitement. I mean, come on! Mid-life crisis here, already..   
  
"It's a Ferris wheel!" I down right _squealed_. I looked at the ride for a few moments with starry eyes, before I noticed the extremely odd looks I was getting from my friends.   
  
Major blush.   
  
"Uh.. uhm.. sorry.." I cleared my throat, shifting from foot to foot and willing the blood to go away from my cheeks. "I.. uh.. ahem.. haven't been t-to.. uh.. a festival since I was.. well, five.."   
  
Blink blink.   
  
"...." I shot them each a deadpan look, then stomped off towards one of the stands. "Feh! If you guys are just going to stand there and gawk all day, I'm going to go.. uh.. to the hypnosis tent! Yeah, that's it..."   
  
This is where life got interesting.   
  
"Did Kagome just squeal?" Sango whispered to Miroku (as if I couldn't hear her), who, in turn, shrugged. Sango paused, then suddenly slapped Miroku's hand away. "PERVERT!"   
  
Miroku pouted and rubbed his poor offended hand. It had been edging towards her butt. "Oi! Sango! I'm sorry! My hand just sometimes has a mind of it's own!"   
  
I rolled my eyes as Sango came running towards me, an annoyed expression on her face. "Kagome! Wait up! I prefer your company over Priest's, any day!"   
  
"Saaaangoooo! Hold on! I'm sorry, you're butt was, well, just there! It was calling out to meee!"   
  
I sighed and wondered how I got trapped with this bizarre group.   
  
*   
  
The hypnosis tent was huge. I kid you not, it resembled St. Bernard's School's gym, it was so big. Idly, as I watched some stage crew set up the props, I wondered if my house could fit in this tent. Actually, to be a bit less vitriolic, the people who had set up the tent had actually done a pretty good job. Rows and rows of seats surrounded a small and neatly decorated stage. Kids of all ages were already scattered amongst the chairs, talking quietly or throwing popcorn kernels at each other.   
  
My friends and I took our seats in the middle of the stadium, having a perfect view of the stage.   
  
"I can't believe we actually came _here_," Inuyasha grumbled. "What the hell is with all this magic shit? Do you guys actually _believe_ this..?"   
  
"Hey," Miroku said easily, draping an arm around Sango's shoulders. "We'll just have to suffer through it for the girls.."   
  
Sango elbowed him again, and he winced and dropped his arm to his side, pouting at her.   
  
"Well," Kikyo drawled almost bitingly to me. "You look like you're enjoying yourself.."   
  
I opened my mouth to shoot a just as biting remark to her, but was beat to it by Sango. "Hst, Kikyo, let's not make this an unpleasant experience, okay? Have fun!"   
  
Kikyo frowned and Sango and slumped back into her chair, pouting like a child. I, so maturely, stuck my tongue out at her, briefly wondering why the girl hated me so much. I mean, I hadn't done anything to her, that could be oh-so-offending, and yet she treated me as if I was the worst guy on the planet.   
  
Guy. Oi, I don't think I'll ever get used to that..   
  
"Hey, Kagome?" Miroku asked from over Sango. She was seated between us, and I had the slightest feeling that she wished _I_ was sitting between her and Miroku. Fat chance.   
  
"Yeah?" My eyes never strayed far from the stage in front of me. I was unconsciously excited about the fact that some guy or girl would hypnotize someone, and for some reason, slightly uncomfortable. I wasn't about to say anything to the friends, but I had an uneasy feeling about this. You know, the kind of feeling where the hair stands up on the back of your neck, and you get goosebumps? Yeah. I just had the feeling that something was going to go so very _wrong_.   
  
"What do you think about this kinda stuff? D'ya think it's a whole bunch of fake shit?"   
  
"Well.." I paused, thinking over my answer. "The thought creeps me out, yanno? I wouldn't want anyone controlling _me_.."   
  
"Oh please," Inuyasha snorted, tossing up a popcorn kernel and catching it in his mouth. I snatched one and tried to do the same. It hit my nose then bounced to the ground. Inuyasha smirked triumphantly at me, tossing up another and once again catching it in his mouth. "You know the people who get 'hypnotized' are just faking it for the publicity. I wish I could go up there and prove to them how dumb they are.."   
  
What we didn't notice was a pair of bright red eyes staring at our group from behind a curtain.   
  
It didn't take long for the tent to get filled with chattering teenagers and kids, and once in awhile a few adults. They sat eagerly, chittering about the amazing "Yura of the Hair" and how she could so easy manipulate people to do her liking. However..   
  
It was twenty minutes _after_ the show was supposed to start, and this awe-inspiring "Yura" was no where to be seen. People were starting to get antsy, shifting around and shouting unpleasant words at the empty stage. Still, there was no sign of Yura.   
  
"Maybe we should just go," Miroku muttered to Sango. "I mean, it's a waste of mon--"   
  
There was an explosion coming from the stage, startling some shrieks from the audience, and almost conjuring one up from me. I bit my tongue, though, keeping in my yelp.   
  
"WELCOME!" a booming voice howled through the speakers, creating an eerie echoing sound. I jumped, unconsciously grabbing Sango's arm, as the lights dimmed to nothing.   
  
Sango gave me a thoughtful look in the dark, and I snatched my hand away.   
  
All at once, the stage burst into glittering light. The platform practically shone with hues of oranges and yellows, earning some pleasantly surprised gasps from the group. Well, I had to give the audience credit. They screamed and clapped and gasped at the appropriate times. Smoke wisped around the stage, heavier than the air and therefore spilling from the stage and creeping against the ground towards the audience's feet. However, before it could touch anyone, it dissipated into nothing. This earned a couple 'ooh's' and 'ahh's', and an unimpressed grunt from Inuyasha.   
  
Me, on the other hand..   
  
"Oi, Kagome.." Sango whispered, poking me in the ribs. "You look like you just saw a ghost!"   
  
"Th.. there's h-hair.." was my stumbling response. Yes, people, there were glowing, shimmering strands of hair littered all over the stage, creating a type of intricate web. This hair was what was emanating the eerie light, shooting reflections of the dazzling colors everywhere. But it was _hair_..   
  
"Where?" Sango asked, sounding slightly confused. I turned my stunned gaze from the stage and on to Sango's puzzled expression. She was studying the stage just as hard as I was, but apparently, she didn't see it.   
  
I blanched.   
  
A young, scantily clad lady stepped into the misty smoke, and looked at the audience with a happy expression. She smiled and bowed, revealing way too much cleavage.   
  
Miroku was having a field day, while Sango was obviously restraining herself from bashing our overenthusiastic friend over the head.   
  
"Thank you for coming to my show," the girl lilted out, smiling and showing a row of perfect teeth. I could even see it from where I was sitting, though I was concentrating more on the hair. Privately, I wished her a cavity. "To get down to business, may I have two volunteers?" Several hands shot up, mostly males, but occasionally a couple females. Miroku was one who raised his hand, thus bringing Yura's attention to our group. She saw, well, me, and grinned viciously. "You! Young man, in the green sweater, please come down!" Her gaze traveled to my right, and the grinned broadened. "Bring your friend with you. The one with the long black hair."   
  
It was Inuyasha's turn to blanch, and my turn to blink in astonishment. After a few moments of confusion, I stood up and grabbed Inuyasha's arm. He gave me a freaked look, and I shrugged.   
  
"Hey, you said you wanted to go there and prove everyone how dumb hypnosis was.. well, here's your chance!"   
  
Inuyasha continued to give me the slightly scared expression, and I shrugged, releasing his arm and squeezing around him to the aisle leading to the stage. "Well, it's up to you," I muttered. "Chicken."   
  
"Hey!" I got my desired reaction, and Inuyasha leapt to his feet, following me. "I ain't a chicken! Hell, I'll prove to you just how not chicken I am!" With that statement, he stomped ahead of me, then leapt onto the stage with agile grace. I blinked, then hurried after him and followed his example, though I just sort of clambered up onto the stage. Hey, no one's accused me of being more graceful than Inuyasha..   
  
Yura smiled creepily at us, and for a moment I swore I saw her eyes flash red. I shuddered and edged around the strands of hair towards her. Inuyasha didn't see them and walked straight towards the vicious looking hair. Surprisingly, before he could run into them, they parted and allowed him through, before once again entangling themselves into their previous position. I blinked in fascination, and the lights moved with the hair.   
  
The audience gasped appropriately.   
  
"Your name?" I jumped, then looked down at the microphone that had been shoved into my face.   
  
"K-Kagome," I said clearly. There were some catcalls, and I glared at Miroku and Eiji. They smiled innocently at me, and the catcalls ceased.   
  
"Inuyasha," said character remarked when the microphone was shoved into his face. He was giving Yura and faintly annoyed look.   
  
Yura circled around him in a predatory manner, looking over his body and his hair. "Ah, Inuyasha, tell me. What do you think about hypnosis?"   
  
"It's a load of bull crap," he stated, then took a step back. She was suddenly in front of his face, standing on her tiptoes so that her eyes were level with his.   
  
"Oh, really?"   
  
Inuyasha blinked again, looking faintly confused, then just.. well, fell asleep. I kid you not. He fell asleep, standing in the middle of the stage, with his eyes wide open.   
  
About here was where I started to get creeped out.   
  
The hypnotizer turned to me, smiling humorlessly. Her eyes weren't brown anymore, in fact, they were blood red.   
  
_::you're getting sleepy..::_ a voice whispered. Her words flashed across my mind in blinding clarity, and slowly my eyes drifted shut. I swayed on my feet, wondering where I could lie down and take a nice nap.. _::now, now, keep your eyes open,::_ On cue, my eyes opened.   
  
I was in a trance.   
  
_::when you wake up, you will remember nothing about this conversation. however, when i clap, i want you to say a subduing spell to your friend. i don't care what, just say it. you won't feel the urge to say the word whenever someone claps.::_   
  
I nodded sleepily, ready and willing to do everything she said. Yura peered more closely at me, looking thoughtful.   
  
_::how amusing. you're a girl disguised as a boy.::_ there was a pause, then a gleeful sounding giggle. _::laa, i can do so much with this! hmm..::_ Another pause, and Yura paced inside my mind. I shifted. That was uncomfortable. _::but now that i have the opportunity, what do i do?! hmm, hmm, hmm.. oh, damn! i can't think of anything right now!::_ At this, a single strand of hair unwound itself from the web and wrapped itself around my wrist. _::i'll just keep tabs on you until i can think of something perfectly heinous. now, wake up!::_   
  
I woke up, then blinked at Yura.   
  
"Aren't you supposed to be.. uh.. trying to hypnotize us or something?" Inuyasha mirrored my confused look, completely awake.   
  
I had already forgotten mine and Yura's mental conversation.   
  
The crowd 'oohed' in appreciation, and I shared and puzzled look with Inuyasha. He shrugged, and, well, Yura clapped.   
  
"SIT!"   
  
B-TAAAAANNG!   
  
I blinked. Yura blinked. The crowd, as one, blinked. Inuyasha embedded himself face first into the ground.   
  
Yura glanced at me, looking disbelieving. "La? You used 'sit' as a subduing spell?"   
  
"Sub-wha?"   
  
The audience was going wild.   
  
After a moment, Inuyasha pried himself from the ground. He rubbed his face and groaned, then turned to me and glared.   
  
"BITCH!"   
  
"Hey!" I shouted back, annoyed and confused. "I didn't mean to! All I said was 'sit'.."   
  
WHACK. Once again, Inuyasha was personally introduced with the stage, face first.   
  
"Oops.. sorry! Sorry!"   
  
The crowd cheered louder, and I got a nervous twitch in my right eye. Oh boy. Inuyasha was going to kill me..   
  
*   
  
"I must say," Miroku said, grinning at the pissed off Inuyasha. I was walking as far away as possible from him, just as he was me. "I've never known someone who used their face to 'sit'.."   
  
Inuyasha winced at the last word, then glared dangerously at the pigtailed boy. Miroku just grinned.   
  
"It's not funny!" Kikyo cried, smacking Miroku upside the head. "How would you like it if you fell face first into the ground after _Kagome_ said 'sit'?" Once again, Inuyasha winced.   
  
"Well, what do you think, Kagome?" Kouga asked.   
  
"I think what we have here is a sit--"   
  
WHACK!!   
  
"--uation.."   
  
"BIIIIIITCH!!"   
  
.:end chapter 3:.   
  
_Up next, the gang is still walking around the festival, this time with much more tension in the air. How is this new situation going to affect Inuyasha and Kagome's friendship? What happens when they get stuck together on the Ferris wheel, much to Kikyo's demise? And what's up with Sango?_   
  
Yes! Finals are over! About the Yura and sit thing, well.. I couldn't resist. My all time favorite part of the manga is that Kagome has the power to flatten Inuyasha with a single word, and Yura was just creepily cool. Expect to see more of Yura.  
  
*throws a FIT* Man, there's just something wrong with me today. Many, MANY apologizes for my htmling mistakes (if anyone saw them), but I write all my html by hand (since I don't have mword). Anyway, hopefully it'll work right, this time.. 


	4. You spin me right round baby

AN: I've been having a bad week. For starters, school decided to bite me in the ass, but I'd rather not get into that. Also, my computer decided to delete my entire fourth chapter, therefore I had to rewrite the stupid thing.   
  
To answer a couple questions:   
  
Inuyasha called Kagome a bitch only because I felt like him calling her that. In no ways does he know that she is really a girl. Not yet, at least. I just think it's funny when someone calls a guy a bitch, because of the irony.   
  
I'm not entirely sure if Inuyasha is going to have any types of youkai power. Most likely not. I don't think that'd really fit with the story..   
  
Inuyasha isn't attracted to Kagome yet. After all, he suspects her to be a boy and he _is_ straight.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter four: You spin me right round baby..  
by Clara  
Inuyasha was livid. I didn't blame him, though, since he had every right to be livid. I'd be angry too if someone I had only known for three days had the ability to make me fall flat on my face by just saying one word. Therefore, it was pretty obvious that the prior situation made him a lot less friendly towards me. He was literally stomping as far away as he could from me, much less the rest of the group. I think this was because Eiji, Kouga, and Miroku had found him falling flat on his face entirely too amusing, and kept prompting me to say the 's word' again. I said it once, to appease them, and in response got a very pissed off 'BITCH!!'   
  
"I'm not a girl," I grumbled to him, crouching to his side. Kikyo was giving me a very interesting look, a cross between spiteful and vengeful. Scary girl. Scaaaary scary girl.   
  
"I'm not someone who likes to fall flat on his face," Inuyasha said around a mouthful of rocks. "Owowowowow.."   
  
Sighing, I grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him up. He winced badly at this, as if me pulling him up hurt more than him falling. He leaned on me for a split second, then sprang away and favored me with a furious glare. "Don't touch me," he managed after a moment.   
  
I was briefly confused, not to mention hurt, as I set my hands to the side. Then I frowned. "Look, Inuyasha, this isn't my fault, and I'm sorry. It's not like I want to sending you sprawling face first into the ground.."   
  
He continued to glare at me. "That last time didn't seem very restrained to me!"   
  
"Hey! I said I was sorry..."   
  
His glare turned almost hateful. "'Sorry' doesn't cut it."   
  
He was hurting me, unintentionally or not. I didn't like to be hurt. Being hurt meant that I might start crying, and if I started crying then it would be guaranteed that the others would start to suspect that I wasn't a boy. So instead of crying, I got as angry as he did. He.. he was acting so damn childish!   
  
"Fine!" I bit out, crossing my arms over my chest. He looked at me in surprise, apparently not expecting me to get angry in return, or to even start groveling for his forgiveness. Well, he could bite me. I didn't grovel. I was a Higurashi, and Higurashi's don't beg. "Be like a stupid junior high kid. Even my brother is more mature than you!"   
  
He looked astounded. The others looked just as shocked as he did, obviously thinking along the same line he did about groveling. I threw them just as disgusted looks as I did him, then threw my hands to the air and started once again walking in the direction we had been previously heading. The others shared a glance behind me, then shrugged and started following me, a good distance away. I think they were slightly afraid of my temper, at the moment.   
  
After a few moments of determined walking, I glanced over my shoulder at the others to see if Inuyasha was there. He was trudging behind the group, a pouty look gracing his features and a posture that forbade any comfort or sympathy. Tensions were running nice and high, now...   
  
Sango piped up a few moments after our mindless walking got us nowhere. She sounded slightly nervous, with an underlying current of determination. "Hey! Miroku! It's the Ferris wheel Kagome got all excited about!" She grabbed his hand, blushing ever so slightly, and dragged him towards it.   
  
Miroku had a priceless look on his face.   
  
"That sounds like a great idea!" Eiji agreed cheerfully. He had this slightly.. devious look on his face, and he stopped walking.   
  
I blinked at him when he grabbed my wrist. Inuyasha mimicked my baffled expression when Eiji shoved me towards him.   
  
"Hey. You two, grab a seat on the ride," He grinned rather forcefully at us, the smile promising much demise if we so much shook our heads 'no'.   
  
Eiji can be scary sometimes.   
  
I stared at my messy haired friend, then sighed and shrugged. Inuyasha glared at me, and, in unison, we both turned around and started walking towards the Ferris wheel.   
  
"Man, they act like an old married couple.." I could have sworn I heard Eiji mutter. I restrained a slight blush, then turned and gave Eiji my most vexed glare. Eiji just smiled and waved.   
  
"HEY!" Kikyo protested, tugging on the arm Kouga had around her to hold the angered girl back. "_I_ wanted to go with Inuyasha!"   
  
"Oi, Kiki," Kouga hissed. I could still here him. By the way Inuyasha tensed, I could tell he could still hear him, too. "We need Kagome on the team! If Inuyasha doesn't like him, then.."   
  
Kikyo seemed to relax, and it was my turn tense up slightly. Was that the only reason why they wanted me and Inuyasha to be friends again? "Well, if that's why.." Kikyo trailed off, then paused. "Get your arm off me!"   
  
"Sorry, sorry! Anyway, that's not just why. Hey, Kagome seems like a nice guy, and if Inuyasha doesn't like him, then.." Kouga left the sentence hanging, and I quickened my pace, my heart beating a bit faster. Could it be possible that Inuyasha really did hate me because of this incident?   
  
If he did, he wouldn't be walking by me towards the Ferris wheel, right?   
  
"Just so you know," Inuyasha growled out. He still sounded angry with me. "I'm not talking to you."   
  
My rage boiled up all over again. Ugh! Of all the immature, stupid, childish things to do! _Why_ did the cute ones always have to be so brainless?!   
  
"Good, I didn't want to talk to you either," I retorted. Okay, so I was just as immature as he was, but you know what? Who cares. The dummy deserved it.   
  
We walked in silence over towards the conductor, each wearing identical masks of distaste. The conductor blinked and wordlessly handed us both tickets. That was the good thing about this festival, I suppose. We didn't have to pay for anything. Ignoring each other, we both went over to the empty seat that was brought to our level and stepped in. A girl that looked a year younger than us paused from scanning over her magazine and reached over, locking the safety bar into place.   
  
Needless to say, Inuyasha and I were sitting as far away from each other as we could. We both had our gazes locked in opposite directions; I had fixated my gaze on a couple of children who were leaning against the rail and watching the people on the ride, while he was staring at the sky with a sort of determined expression. As if he was determined to ignore me, even though I had a feeling he wanted to ask me something.   
  
As the ride slowly started to move, and the children get smaller and farther away, I began to remember something I had tucked as far back as I could in the smallest recesses of my mind. When I was three years old, my grandfather took me on an airplane for the first time in my life. I, understandably, was excited, since it was only in my wildest dreams where I was actually flying. I remember pressing my face as close as I could against the window, watching as the cars and people shrunk down to the size of my toys, then to the size of ants, then finally until they were almost completely imperceptible.   
  
Then we hit turbulence.   
  
And when I say turbulence, I don't mean the small little bumps airplanes fly through that might disrupt your coffee, I'm talking about the kind of turbulence that sends your coffee flying over your head and landing on the person behind or in front of you. It terrified me, to say the least.   
  
Turbulence hit, then, ironically, a storm. Flying became hazardous. So dangerous, in fact, we had to make an emergency landing.   
  
From this, I became terrified of heights and terrified of airplanes.   
  
So when our seat came to a stop at the top of the ride, I reasonably got nervous.   
  
Inuyasha turned his gaze away from the sky for a moment to observe me. I must have made a rather comical picture; with my eyes squeezed shut and my hands gripping the safety bar like a lifeline. I was unconsciously chanting a mantra in my mind, trying to calm myself from my sheer terror of being so damn high up. I kept imagining the untrustworthy bolts that kept our seat from falling to the ground loosening then finally releasing our chair to its freedom, inevitably bringing Inuyasha and I to our demise. Silly, I know, but when you're so terrified of something, you begin to imagine things that just wouldn't naturally happen. Like if you're on a ski lift, going to the top of the mountain, and you're scared of heights, you commence looking up, figuring that it's better than looking down. However, when you look up, you notice the unreliable looking cord that's the only thing that is holding you up from the ground. You start analyzing how much the seat plus you and one or two other people weigh. Then you start thinking about how there are so many other chairs are there, and how much they all weigh, added together. You start freaking yourself out even more, but before you can have a complete mental breakdown, the lift ends and you get off, snowboarding or skiing down the slope, only to repeat the ski lift process again.   
  
Or maybe that was just me.   
  
"You're scared of heights, aren't you?" the ever psychic Inuyasha stated. I briefly wondered if he could read my mind, then banished that silly thought. After all, if he could, then he would know that I was girl. What a messy situation that would be! I peeked open one of my eyes and gave him one of the worst looks I could muster. He smirked ever so slightly.   
  
"So? What's it matter to you?"   
  
"Why are you afraid of heights?" he asked, completely ignoring my question. I gave him a dry look for his lack of discretion.   
  
"I have my reasons."   
  
Inuyasha snorted, then looked back up in the sky again. "There's more accidents that can happen on the ground then that could happen in the air, you know…"   
  
"Air accidents are more terrifying," I shot back, though my grip on the bar loosened quite a bit.   
  
"If you die, you die."   
  
We sat in silence again, me mulling over what he said, and him looking at the sky and ignoring me. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point.   
  
"Besides," Inuyasha continued, completely ruining any chance he had at calming me. "You die during the fall, most of the time. Your neck snaps due to the..."   
  
My eyes widened. "Oh, THANKS!" I snapped, quickly interrupting him. My grasp on the bar retightened, this time so hard that my knuckles were beyond white.. almost purple. Being as he was, Inuyasha snickered.   
  
The tension in the air was slowly floating away, and by the smug grin he had on his face, I could tell he wasn't mad at me anymore. Most likely because he now had an upper hand over me: the fact that I was terrified of heights.   
  
But his grin did something to my heart. It sped up; making me feel like the ride was collapsing underneath me and I had no control over the situation. Only… I wasn't scared anymore.   
  
Inuyasha, the dumb jerk, was worming his way into my affections already.   
  
*   
  
When the ride was finally over, I was given the shock of my life. Only, I couldn't exactly call it the 'shock of my life', since that would be a gross exaggeration. It was more like reasonable surprise. The 'shock of my life' came later. Anyway, to cease my incessant babbling, I'll move on.   
  
What shocked me was my little brother, walking side by side with a girl his age towards a popcorn machine. They were both sneaking small glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, then blushing when their eyes met. I grinned. How cute.   
  
The two kids walking behind me apparently had the same thoughts. They were laughing and making kissy faces at my brother and the girl's back, but not in the mocking kind of humor. More like, when a friend teases you about how you like this boy but whenever you're around him, you act all childish and goofy.   
  
Soooo…   
  
"HEY, SOUTA!" I called, making several people around me jump. Including my friends, who I had neglected in mentioning. They had returned back to surround Inuyasha and me, Kikyo wearing an infuriated expression. "Who's you're little girlfriend?"   
  
Instant blush. The cute thing was, it wasn't just Souta who blushed, but the little girl who was walking by my side."   
  
"Kagome!" Souta shouted, reaching up to rub one of his cheeks to try to banish the redness. "Haven't you ever heard of discretion?"   
  
"Oh, then I was right!"   
  
Souta looked about ready to kick me in the shins. He probably would have, to, if his friends weren't there and we weren't in a public place. But instead, he just blushed, and, surprisingly didn't deny it. My grin widened as he led the little girl over to my friends and me.   
  
"Well?" I inquired. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"   
  
"Mayu, this is my stupid older si—brother Kagome." Luckily, Souta caught his stumble before he could complete the word 'sister'. Wouldn't that be interesting? "Kagome, this is Mayu, my _friend_." He put an unnecessary emphasis on friend, looking me in the eye. "This is Shippo and Rin, my other friends." He indicated with his hand a boy with dusky red hair and a girl with a seemingly ever-present smile.   
  
Okay, so I'm a girl. I'm a nosy girl. I'm a nosy girl who likes to match make. Soooo… opportunity presented itself and I started getting ideas. I had a feeling that Souta knew what was on my mind, because he gradually started backing away from me.   
  
"Ah.. Kagome.."   
  
"Hey, Kagome, who's the kid?" Miroku interrupted. He grinned broadly at my brother and his friends. To my amusement, Souta was looking more and more uncomfortable, while his friends were looking more and more interested. "Is this your brother you were telling us about?"   
  
I nodded my affirmative, and for a moment the younger half of the group looked at me in confusion, then back to my brother.   
  
"Hey," Shippo said, frowning slightly. "You never told us you had a brother, just about your older sister…"   
  
Instant attention from a certain boy whose name started with M and ended with I-R-O-K-U.   
  
"Higurashi, you've been holding back on us!" He was immediately at my side, looking highly interested. "You never told us you had a sister! Is she younger than you? Older? Is she cute? Available?"   
  
"A little desperate, Priest?" I asked, ducking away from him. Great. How did I get myself into these messes again? Oh yeah, I listen to my stupid grandpa. And I have a younger brother who opens his stupid mouth worse than I do. "Ah… uhm… yeah… I have a… much older sister who's… already married with two children and lives in… Texas!" I shot out quickly, making everything up as I went along. Souta dropped his head in his hands, most likely thinking along the same lines as I was. What on earth was I getting myself into?   
  
"Really?" Mayu asked, smiling slightly. "Souta never told us about her, just that he had a sister who was a junior in high school…   
  
Oh, good, he had to get technical! The highly re-interested look Miroku was giving me was making me feel just slightly uneasy.   
  
"Oh! You mean… uh…um… Kekki! She's my… my identical twin sister!" I began to sweat nervously. There was no way anyone was going to believe my hair-brained story. I was getting worse than my grandfather…   
  
However, Souta was doing a magnificent job at playing along. He nodded vigorously to everything I said, even though he also had the slightly panicky, disbelieving look on his face. I could almost hear what he would say to me later. 'Good job, Kagome! Digging yourself even _deeper_, and dragging me along with you!'   
  
So we put on our identical 'believe-me-I'm-innocent' looks on our faces and directed our heart-melting smiles at our friends.   
  
"Well!" Miroku said, completely buying every word. "When can I… we… meet her?"   
  
I literally fell over.   
  
*   
  
A rather interesting thing happened after the festival and as we returned to the school. It's granted that I would notice the odd looks my friends were sending in my direction, but the one that made me the most uncomfortable was the one Sango was directing me. It was soft, sweet, and expressive, and I got the distinctive feeling that… well, she _liked_ me. Not like one would like a friend, but…   
  
Well, you know.   
  
My suspicions were partially confirmed when we got back to the girls' school.   
  
"Hey! Kagome, can I talk to you really quickly?" Sango asked.   
  
Those few words sent on the edge. For the billionth time that night, I could feel the tensions rise in the air, straining until the point where the air was about to snap. I was getting nervous, and Miroku was looking at me in a way that made me want to run for cover. I could almost see the oversized bright red words spelling DANGER across the sky.   
  
"Uh… I guess…" I glanced almost apologetically at my livid friend, and he shrugged nonchalantly at me.   
  
Battling the feeling of certain demise, I followed my female friend into a more secluded area. I didn't miss the look Kikyo was giving me, though, but I didn't have any time to decipher it. I have the distinct impression that what the look showed was… hopeful? As if Sango and I might hook up? No way.   
  
Sango was nervous. That much was easy to pick up. She shuffled her feet almost shyly, then kept sneaking glances at me.   
  
I, on the other hand, was playing in turmoil of thoughts in the middle of my mind. What on earth was I supposed to do? What if she did like me? If she did, and I declined her, would that put a strain on our friendship? I didn't want that, especially since she was one of the only levelheaded friends in our group. But I couldn't exactly _tell_ her…   
  
_Why not, though?_ A part of me asked, while the other part beat the crap out of that one part. While I was having that mental war against myself, Sango suddenly stopped and stared up at me. I blinked a couple times.   
  
Sango looked down at her feet, a shy blush coming up to her cheeks. "Ah.. K-Kagome.. I just wanted.."   
  
"Look, Sango, as much as you might like me, I'm sorry, but anything that might have been able to happen between us never will be able to because I'm really a girl disguised as a guy in order to protect my brother!" I said in a rush, dropping my male tone.   
  
The girl standing in front of me blinked. Then blinked again. The, for good measure, blinked one more time. "Did.. you just say...?"   
  
"Uh... yeah..."   
  
"So you're..?"   
  
"I.. uh.. yeah. So, look, I'm really sorry, but any feelings you might have for me are gunna be unrequited.."   
  
Sango looked confused for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Y-you thought I had feelings for you?!"   
  
I frowned. "Well, yeah.. I mean, you were always looking at me with this certain kind of look... and then you called me to ask me over here... and..."   
  
"Kagome," Sango interrupted, grinning. "I was going to ask you if you were _gay_."   
  
Time seemed to stand still. I, let me tell you, was frozen solid. For a few moments, at least.   
  
"WHAT?!"   
  
"Well, yeah. I'm sorry Kagome, but you don't pull off a straight guy very well. But you're a _girl_?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"   
  
"I had my reasons. But you thought I was gay?!"   
  
"Yeah..." Sango sighed wistfully. "I was kinda hoping you were, too. Then we could have checked out guys together and shopped together and watched cheesy movies together... well, not really the last one, since I can't stand cheesy movies..."   
  
I knocked on Sango's head. "Heellloooo... I'm a girl? We can still do those things without me getting all weirded out?"   
  
For a moment, the girl looked puzzled. Then she beamed at me excitedly. "Oh yeah! This is gunna be even better, since you're a girl! I can't believe it!" She paused, stopping from her excitement to stare at me. "Hey. If you're a girl, then why are you going HERE? Why didn't you just go to _my_ school?"   
  
"When I know that answer, I'll tell you." I deflated slightly and sat down on the bench, sighing. "The best answer I can give you is that my grandpa is a moron..."   
  
"So then you're..."   
  
"Yes, I like guys."   
  
"Okay, okay! I was just making sure..." Sango paused again, apparently mulling over my words. I could tell something was bothering her. She glanced at me thoughtfully, then grinned. "Hey. You like Inuyasha, don't you?"   
  
I fell off the bench. My, I was falling a lot, these days... Letting out a resigned sigh, I looked up at her. "Am I that obvious? Man, did you know before _I_ did?"   
  
Sango shrugged, leaning against her knees so that we would be more level with one another. "I wouldn't say you're obvious, Kagome, I could just kind of tell. No one else suspects though, don't worry. As open-minded as Inuyasha is about this, he wouldn't exactly be comfortable around you if he thought you liked him while you were a guy. And you don't even _want_ to know what Kikyo would do to you..." She frowned at me, suddenly. "Speaking of 'being a guy', how do I know you're not lying to me and the others didn't set you up against me?"   
  
I pulled off my sweater, then unbuttoned the first two buttons of my shirt, revealing enough cleavage to distinguish me from the male gender. Anymore suspicions died in Sango's throat, and her eyes popped out of her head.   
  
"W-woah... and the other's don't know? Are you who Souta was talking about when he said he had an older sister, or do you really have a sister named Kekki? If you don't, how the hell are you going to pull this off?"   
  
"No, the others don't know... and please don't tell them. I don't think they'd be to pleased if they found out that their new friend was really a girl. And besides, can you imagine how Miroku would respond? He's a great friend, but the guy's a lecher." I sighed, glancing at the tree across the street—the one we sat under every day. "Anyway, I don't think the school would take to kindly to me being a girl... even though there has been discussion in combining our two schools..."   
  
"Yeah, but then there's those crazy women activists people..."   
  
We both sighed at the same time, then I abruptly stood up. "I better go. Miroku's probably wanting to rip out my throat by now..."   
  
"Why would he want to do that?"   
  
I gave Sango a deadpan look. "I'm going now..."   
  
"No, seriously, Kagome, why?!"   
  
I walked off, amist her enraged growls. Oh well, she'd get over it.   
  
I was lucky, that time. Miroku, I guess, was in a good mood, because he didn't try to obliterate me. Of course, this was _after_ I explained to him that there was _nothing_ between me an Sango...   
  
*   
  
Sigmund Freud, an amazingly brilliant man, studied the unconscious mind because he believed that dreams and thoughts hidden in the deep recesses of our brain's affected our every day life. He believed that if those dreams and those thoughts were brought to the surface of one's unconsciousness, one might be able to control the undesirable actions that are displayed from those hidden thoughts. He examined, studied, tested, concluded, and was inevitably right.   
  
I was able to study his practices that night, right when I fell asleep.   
  
As soon as I closed my eyes, I started one of the most eerie dreams I've ever had in my life. I don't normally dream, mind you, which is why I got a full night's sleep. When someone dreams vividly during the night, they tend to wake up more often then someone who does not dream so vividly, thus remembering the dream they had the night before. Anyway, I'm getting off topic.   
  
My dream, from the start, was weird. One of those hippy-high-on-crack weird, let me tell you.   
  
The first thing I noticed about the dream was there was hair. A lot of hair. Zigzagging around the... area I was in like a spider's web, glistening in a light whose source I could not see. The next thing I noticed was that I was wearing a weird kimono. Actually.. the weird part of it was that I wasn't exactly _wearing_ it, but it was almost as if I was holding it around me for protection. And I was wearing a skirt. A short skirt, to be more precise.   
  
For some reason, my head also felt abnormally heavy. I reached up and touched the top of my head on instinct, then blinked.   
  
My hair! It was back!   
  
Abruptly, like Alice in Wonderland falling through the abnormally large house, I realized I was falling in the center of the hair waterfall. I hated dreams. They always make your worst fears come to life.   
  
Before I could make a nice bloody smear on the... skulls below me, hair suddenly shot from the sides of me and snaked around my wrists.   
  
I didn't feel a thing.   
  
"What _are_ you? Why aren't you maimed?!"   
  
"Huh?" I eloquently asked, then looked up. To my surprise, Yura was.. well, floating there, holding a sword. She didn't look very happy, either. I blinked at her, then my eyes widened in shock. Something.. razor sharp was cutting into my neck. It felt like a thin thread, trying to decapitate me.   
  
I couldn't look down to check, in fear of losing my head, you realize. So, instead...   
  
..I woke up, shooting into a sitting position. My heart was pounding, and something on my wrist was cutting off my circulation.   
  
There was a single, strand of hair tied around my wrist like a bracelet.   
  
I, let me tell you, almost had a heartattack.   
  
.:end chapter four:.   
  
An explanation: Kagome dreamt about a past life (which follows the timeline of Rumiko Takahashi's series), but only a small part where Kagome and Yura had that... encounter. The only reason WHY that happened was because of the hair on Kagome's wrist. This only happened to further the plotline in the Yura-Kagome situation. I most likely won't be doing anymore dream-flashbacks, unless inspiration hits.   
  
Sorry for the kind of short chapter, btw.. x.x; 


	5. Here's lookin' at you, kid

Friday night found our group sitting in our ice cream shoppé, celebrating over our first completed week of the school year. It wasn't every day someone survived the first week of school. I'm lying, but let's pretend for a moment. That way, we actually had a reason to stuff ourselves silly by buying too much food then we could afford.   
  
The boys were excitedly talking about this and that while Sango and Kikyo gossiped about that and this. I ignored all of them, busying myself with drinking my chocolate malt. It was too thick for it's own good, and I was having enough problems trying to suck it through the straw without giving myself an aneurysm or something.   
  
"Hey," Miroku started, popping a fry in his mouth. "What are we going to do this weekend? My house is off limits…"   
  
"Don't look at me," Inuyasha grumbled. Kikyo nodded in her agreement, and I once again began wondering what on earth was going on between them. I had the decency not to ask, though, because I knew what tensions that could arise from the two stiff-backed teenagers. As unbelievable as this might sound, I did once in a while learn my lesson.   
  
Eiji paused, looking thoughtfully at, well, me. I continued to ignore him, listening with only half an ear. My delicacy was finally working its way up the straw, due to my persistent ministrations.   
  
"Hey," Eiji said, grinning. "I know where we can go, provided that he agrees…"   
  
Eiji earned instant attention from everyone but me. I was too busy reveling in my success at finally getting some of my tasty drink.   
  
"Where?"   
  
"Kagome's!"   
  
I spit that tasty drink out.   
  
"WHAAAT?!"   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Five: Here's lookin' at you, kid.  
by Clara  


  
  
I couldn't get out of it. No matter how hard I begged, no matter how hard I _pleaded_, the boys wouldn't let me get out of hosting the group of them at my house. I was stuck, and frankly, I was in a 'rut'. For one thing, at my house I was _female_. Not male. Therefore, that meant that everything about my house that was related to me was female.   
  
Sango and I ended up bumming a ride off our insane friend, since we were both lacking a ride home. When I say 'insane friend', I mean Miroku. As it turns out, Miroku ended up pulling over a couple times before he was even half way to my house, do to my constant death threats and Sango once in a while latching onto his neck like a desperate leech. After the third time pulling over, our dear friend refused to ever drive us around again, starting from there. Since he refused to drive, and Sango and I were running on a time limit, our female friend took over his place at the drivers seat. It turned out that Sango was a great driver, even though she had the tendency to drive a little _too_ slow…   
  
I had to wonder _why_ we never thought of having the extremely levelheaded Sango drive us around, instead of the reckless and cut-loose Miroku. Life would feel so much safer if Miroku were to NEVER set foot in the driver's seat of a car...   
  
Anyway, to fast forward, let me explain how life became super interesting after I got home. Grandpa and Mom welcomed me back with open arms, then interrogated me for a good half hour about the school and what they were doing to Souta. I answered all their questions truthfully, watching as my mom's eyes widened in terror, and my grandpa's face getting a more blank by the moment. His face was finally starting to show it's age, deep-set wrinkles lining his worry and sorrow.   
  
"I'm watching him, though," I assured them, hurriedly. Tears were standing in my mother's eyes, and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if she cried. There's only one person in the world that could get me bawling by just shedding a few tears, and that was Mom. "They'll have to get through _me_ before they can touch Souta..."   
  
Mom's chin trembled, and a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "Kagome.." She reached over and gave me a tight hug. "You are such a good older brother.."   
  
"...."   
  
"MOM! I'M A _GIRL_, IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN!"   
  
Mom abruptly let go of me, blushing. "Oi, Kagome, I'm sorry. I kind of... well, forgot..."   
  
"MOOOMMM!!"   
  
*   
  
Three hours before the others said they would be arriving at my house, I could be found crawling around in our guest room on my hands and knees, wearing an old sundress that had a couple of holes in the back and a bandanna around my hair to protect it from any deadly dust bunnies. Hey, those dust bunnies could be vicious sometimes, and I really wasn't in the room to take another shower.   
  
To explain _why_ I was crawling around in the guest room would be silly, since it's pretty obvious. I couldn't exactly say that my very feminine, very stuffed animal filled room was _Kagome's_ room. That room was 'Kekki's'.   
  
So I crawled around the room, dusting around and strategically placing shoes and papers and clothing around the room to make it look like it was actually a boy's room and had been lived in. Up on the once naked walls were posters of random baseball teams and even a picture of a pretty girl that I had found in my grandpa's room. She was fully clothed, thankyouverymuch, but at least it made it look like I might actually be attracted to the female gender. As a boy, I mean. Man, I'm even starting to confuse myself.   
  
"Hey, Grandpa!" I shouted from under the bed, after sneezing a couple times. "Why DID you have that picture of some lady standing at the beach?"   
  
"I plead the fifth," was Grandpa's chaste comment. I pulled my head out from under the bed and gave him a sarcastic look.   
  
"Whatever." I crawled out from my position half way under the bed and stood up, placing my hands on my hips to give the room a once over. It looked almost perfect, except…   
  
I reached over and yanked back the sheets and blankets, then nodded in my satisfaction. "There. Perfect." Grandpa rolled his eyes, sipping his iced tea.   
  
"You're never going to pull this off, you know. What you need is…" He whipped out a small amulet from, well, out of nowhere. "A lucky charm! Legend has it that…"   
  
I snatched the charm from Grandpa before he could get into one of his long-winded 'legends' once again, then looked over the amulet. "Hey! This would make cute hair thing…"   
  
Grandpa snatched the amulet back, scowling at me. "Kagome!"   
  
I grinned sheepishly. My grandpa was an interesting man, having an extremely complex personality. He was a highly superstitious baseball fan. You can just _imagine_ how interesting his superstition would be during games. If you can't, let me give you an example. Have you ever heard of a 'dried hand of a water sprite' giving you good luck? Let me tell you, neither have I, until the Giants and the Patriots faced off. Unfortunately, or fortunately for me because that meant that I didn't have to go around carrying a dried claw, Buyo, my obese cat, mistook the limb for a kitty treat and munched the poor thing to death. I swear Grandpa had a hernia. If you could have a hernia from freaking out, that is.   
  
Anyway, I had just finished running around the room, and was just about to change into a pair of jeans and a sweater, when the doorbell rang. Confused, I walked over to the main room of the house, after shooting my grandpa a departing look.   
  
"Remember, I'm _Kekki_, not _Kagome_," I reminded him, and he nodded. I pushed open the front door, half expecting it to be a couple of solicitors or something.   
  
To my great surprise, Inuyasha blinked back at me.   
  
This couldn't be right!   
  
They were supposed to be here in THREE BLOODY HOURS!   
  
I LOOKED LIKE A GIRL!   
  
"Ummm…"   
  
Sango peeked around Inuyasha, glanced at me, then smacked both her hands over her mouth. By the muffled sounds she was making, I was positive she was laughing at me. I shot her a threatening look, asking her with my eyes WHY the hell she allowed HIM of all people to come to my house before I was ready for them?! She shrugged innocently, and I added her to the 'I must get revenge on some day' list. Miroku and Hojou were tied for first on that list, by the way.   
  
"Uh, you must be Kekki…" Inuyasha said, looking slightly uncomfortable. I swear I could almost see the outline of a blush on his cheeks. My guess was that he didn't approach many girls outside of our little group.   
  
Good.   
  
"Kekki?" Another voice chimed in. I practiced the Gestalt approach and looked at the entire picture, instead of the details. Then swallowed a cry of unfairness when I realized that no, it wasn't just Inuyasha and Sango there, but in fact _everyone_   
  
Suppressing a groan, I opened the door all the way, as an invitation. I was greeted with six surprised stares. Saying a quick prayer to whatever god would listen to me, I plastered on a fake smile and took a step back.   
  
"You must be Kagome's friends." I felt like I was talking to myself in third person. "He isn't here right now, because he had to… uh… visit our grandma who was in the hospital." My grandmother's been dead for seven years now, and my other grandma hated our family's guts. "He didn't expect you to be here until five…"   
  
Kouga socked Eiji in the shoulder, though I noticed he kept glancing at me with a look in his eyes that I had a feeling I didn't want to know about. "I TOLD you we should have called before we came!"   
  
Eiji shrugged helplessly, then tossed a 'charming' smile in my direction. It was hard for me to see someone who made little spitball darts in the middle of psychology as 'charming', though…   
  
"You don't mind if we stay here and wait for him, do you?" He frowned slightly. "You guys don't exactly live like, five miles away, yanno.."   
  
_I DO mind, damnit!_ "Sure!" I kept my pleasant smile on, then stepped to the side, allowing access into my house. "Go ahead and si… take a seat," I caught myself before I finished that deadly word, wincing mentally. Wow. I wonder what excuse I would come up with if I had actually said 'sit' and Inuyasha had gone flying. Most likely not a very believable one.   
  
How on EARTH was I supposed to pull off bringing 'Kagome' back?   
  
"Soooooo..." Miroku said in a smooth voice, sliding over to my side and wrapping a casual arm over my shoulder. Which were bare. "I take it you're Kagome's twin, aren't you? I'm Miroku. I'm sure you've heard _all_ about me..   
  
"Well, Kagome _did_ mention something about his perverted friend.. Mikaka?"   
  
Completely nonplused, Miroku smiled down at me. "That's 'Miroku'," he said condescendingly.   
  
I elbowed him, rather hard. He, to my dismay, didn't let go, only winced slightly. My bet was that he was used to Sango driving that pointy joint into his ribs, already...   
  
You know, to be slightly off topic, I had to wonder how on earth I managed to convince these guys that 'Kagome' actually had a twin sister. This little lie had to be the most unbelievable lie I've ever put out in my life. It was amazing what people would swallow...   
  
I glanced discreetly at Sango, who looked ready to bash Miroku's head in. Okay, so how much _some_ people could swallow.   
  
"You know, twins come from the same ovary, who come from a woman, who had to have intercourse with the man for that ovary to split... what say you and I try to make our own twins?"   
  
About this time was when Miroku received about several different mutilations from various members of the group, the most prominent beatings coming from Sango.   
  
How cute.   
  
"OI! Miroku, you don't even know the girl!" Kouga smiled at me, but I noticed a hint of a leer to that smile. "Sorry about that, he can be rather.. promiscuous at times.   
  
At least he was blunt about it. Miroku, that is.   
  
"Excuse me, Sango needs to.. uh.. help me pick out an outfit. Don't want to look.. uhm.. unpleasant around you boys.. heh heh.. I mean, look at these awful rags!" I said, wrenching myself away from Kouga and Miroku, still wearing my fake smile. I grabbed Sango's arm, making sure to apply enough pressure to her arm to let her know that much demise was coming her way. Sango had the audacity to keep laughing quietly. "We'll be riiiight back."   
  
"You know each other?" Kikyo asked. Her tone held a bit of suspicion to it. Oh, good. Even as a _girl_ Kikyo _still_ apparently didn't like me. Man, there was no way to please that girl.   
  
"I met her when she was shadowing at our school," Sango said calmly, soothingly. "Since we didn't have any classes together last year, you didn't get to see her."   
  
I blinked over at Sango, idly wondering if I should have _her_ do all the lying for me. She was a natural.   
  
After Sango and I reached my room, I carefully shut my door, making sure to lock it. Then, I drug her to the farthest corner of the room.   
  
"Sango!" I whispered harshly. "How could you let them come this early?!"   
  
"I didn't mean to!" Sango whispered back, eyes darting around suspiciously. "I was walking to the bus stop, cuz you called me, remember?"   
  
"No!" I let go of her arm, starting to pace around my room. I unconsciously pulled at my short hair. "I completely forgot!" Sango gave me a deadpan look. "Whatever, just keep going. How did you manage to get all the way here with THEM?!"   
  
"Well, Miroku saw me walking, and decided to pick me up. It turns out that the others were with him, cuz he has that huge landrover or something, yanno? Anyway, they said that they were going to go to your house a little earlier for some unknown reason. I think they were bored."   
  
"So why the hell did you LET them come?" "I tried to stall, believe me! But I couldn't exactly flat out tell them that you guys couldn't come over because you weren't a boy right now!"   
  
"Couldn't you thought of something?!"   
  
"Without making it look like that me and 'Kagome' were going out?"   
  
I froze in mid-pace, defeated. This was true.   
  
"Damnit.."   
  
"I'm sorry Kagome, but we'll just have to make do. I'll help you, okay?"   
  
I let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, Sango." I walked into my little walk in closet, grabbing my yellow, and much less bed-raggled, sundress off it's hanger and swung my closet door shut behind me. "I can't believe this is happening," I said to Sango through my closet door as I pulled my outfit over my head. "This is so so SO not supposed to happen." I pulled my yellow dress on, then reached behind to tie the little bow behind. "Why didn't they call?"   
  
"Boys will be boys," was Sango's slightly muffled reply. I sighed heavily and pushed the door open, at the same time pulling off my bandanna and shaking out my short hair. Sango raised an eyebrow. "Any reason for the 'cute' look?"   
  
I gave her a dark look. "I refuse to answer that..."   
  
Sango laughed and pulled herself off my bed, Buyo literally rolling off her lap and on to my bedcovering. The fat cat let out a mix between a meow and a purr, not moving from the position where he had rolled off from. Actually, I don't think he could.   
  
I pushed the door open, running my fingers unconsciously through my hair. Thank god I put some make-up on earlier.   
  
THAT, if anything, might help distinguish me from my 'twin brother'...   
  
*   
  
We found the remainder of our group, lounging around my family room. Well, sans Inuyasha.   
  
"Hey, where'd 'Yasha go?" Sango asked, somehow gracefully plopping beside Miroku. She put an iron hand on his arm when she noticed the 'look' he was giving me. "Don't even think about it, Miroku, unless you want her to file against you for sexual harassment or something.."   
  
Miroku rolled his eyes, but settled back against the couch. "He's looking at Kagome's trophies."   
  
My eyes widened. My trophies! Oh, bloody hell, they gave those damn trophies feminine bodies. Which meant, those trophies had boobies. Which meant..   
  
"Hey, Kekki," Inuyasha greeted as he walked into the room. He looked faintly confused. "Why does your brother have a trophy for the 'Woman's National Softball League'?"   
  
Oh shitshitshitshitshit..   
  
"Well, uh, you see, my parents weren't expecting twins or anything, so, uh, when they filled out the form for the names, they only put in 'Kagome', and so therefore, we both have the same name!" I said in a rush. Well, shitty. THIS lie was even MORE unbelievable than the twin one was!   
  
"Oh!" Inuyasha said, nodding. "That'd explain it then."   
  
I blanched. Sango blanched, too. The others looked perfectly normal and believing, going back to what they had originally been doing.   
  
I was FAR from being wrong when I said that the others could sure swallow a lot of bull. Either that, or they trusted me a lot. That scared me. If they trusted me so much and they ever found out that I had been lying to them this entire time, then they would hate me.   
  
I didn't want them to hate me. I liked them too much, already.   
  
Apparently, my mom had discovered this motley bunch meandering around my couch and had gone into what I like to call 'Mom-mode', bustling around the kitchen and the family room, providing the guests with food and drinks, while at the same time chastising me for not telling her that I was having my 'sweet friends over'. At least she hadn't whipped out the baby pictures, or something. I loved that about my mom. She was always too busy when my dad left to ever make baby albums for me and Souta, although she always went on and on about how she WAS going to, one day.   
  
Besides the fact that baby pictures were embarrassing, how was I going to explain the lack of 'Kagome-ness'? "Oh, we decided we didn't want him one day, so we sent him off to live with our Aunt Mary Sue until he reached a suitable age." Yeah, the boys would believe that...   
  
Huh. With all this bull I've been spouting about and them believing, maybe they would.   
  
I started to walk back to the couch, then noticed Miroku and Kouga looking at me with, well, curious eyes. I groaned quietly, did a 180 and shuffled over to the love seat, sinking down into it thoughtfully. I suppose the boys were at a loss of words due to my sudden appearance, because they just silently watched me.   
  
I got uncomfortable.   
  
"Well, uh, would you like to watch some movies?"   
  
*   
  
We ended up having a type of... pardon the expression, 'girl's night'. Meaning, we all crowded on my large sofa, me _somehow_ getting squished against Inuyasha (I blame this on Sango's strategic planning... I love that girl), and watched old movies, this including The Breakfast Club and every Audrey Hepburn movie I own. How we managed to convince the boys to let us watch chick-flicks, I have no idea. When I asked Sango later, she simply explained that girls had a sort of 'power' over boys. Somehow, though, between Sixteen Candles and Breakfast at Tiffany's, a couple action flicks managed to sneak in. Let me tell you, I HATE Terminator one through a million, but we ended up having to watch _all_ of them.   
  
Luckily, by this time, we were too focused on trying to keep our eyes open. Big quilts and full tummies tend to make one sleepy, doncha know.   
  
I'd also like to mention here that my mom wasn't very pleased about everyone spending the night without her permission, giving me a hearty lecture in the confines of our kitchen. Being as kind hearted as my mother was, though, she allowed me to have everyone over for the night. But that was hours ago.   
  
Fate dealed a tricky hand to me, that night though. She decided that the last ones awake would be him and me, just to see what would happen. I was too wired on soda and Casablanca to get any sleep at that time, and I don't exactly know why Inuyasha was still awake. When I snuck a glance at him, though, his face was slightly thoughtful.   
  
"Enjoying the movie?" I whispered, not wanting to wake Miroku and Sango. They just looked so cute, with Sango using Miroku's shoulder as a pillow, and Miroku resting his head on hers.   
  
"..I have a lot on my mind." He sipped his drink, and I followed his hands to his lips. He had nice lips. I also noticed that he kept his voice down, too, eyes darting towards Miroku and Sango. Awww...   
  
"Care to share?" I quickly glued my eyes back to the screen, not exactly pleased with my line of thoughts.   
  
"Well, for starters, do you know why Kagome never returned?"   
  
"Yeah." For once, I had been prepared for this question. "Mom told me he called earlier." I dropped my eyes to the quilt's pattern, which had been drawn up to my neck. "Grandma isn't doing so well, so he's going to be staying there for the night. He told me to tell you that he was _really_ sorry, and he'll make it up to you guys the next time you all went to the ice cream shoppé..?" I trailed off to a confused tone, making it appear as if I didn't know what 'Kagome' was talking about when he mentioned the ice cream shoppé.   
  
Damn, I was becoming a GREAT liar.   
  
Yeah right.   
  
Inuyasha nodded in acceptance, but his face still held that thoughtful look.   
  
"You're keeping something back from me, I can tell. But that's okay, I don't expect you to tell me everything, since we just met and all.." I reassured hurriedly. Man, I was so nosy, no matter what gender I was. Pretended gender or not.   
  
Inuyasha shrugged easily. "Just some family issues." He snuck a glance at me out of the corner of his eye. "I hope you don't mind us imposing here, for the night. We all have our own reasons for not wanting to be home tonight."   
  
I nodded, accepting his reason, though, of course, wanting to know more. Instead of prying, however, I just glued my eyes back to the screen. Rick was just telling Sam to play the song he had played for Ilsa.   
  
"_You must remember this.. a kiss is just a kiss.._"   
  
"It's nothing big, though. Well, actually, it kind of is, I suppose. I was planning on telling your brother this tonight, but he isn't here, so you're the next best thing." He smirked slightly at those words. "Anyway, my parents are getting a divorce, and everything at my house is kind of.. rocky right now. It's one of those tough divorces, since it was such a close marriage. My mom and dad loved each other so much, you know?" He slumped lower, sighing quietly. "The thought of my parents splitting is hard."   
  
"I know."   
  
"_A sigh is just a sigh.._"   
  
"How do you know?"   
  
"My parents divorced a couple years ago, too. There was this huge legal dispute about who Souta and I should go with, but my father ended up suddenly disappearing on the final court day. I get postcards from him once in awhile, though."   
  
We both fell silent after I professed this.   
  
"_The fundamental things apply as time goes by.._"   
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, Kekki."   
  
"It's okay. I got over it."   
  
"You shouldn't have had a reason to have to get over it, though, if you can understand what I just said."   
  
"I understand perfectly, don't worry. I just wish you didn't have to go through what I did."   
  
"It happens to the best of us. I'll get over it. Maybe they'll get over it."   
  
"_And when to lovers woo, they still say 'I love you'.._"   
  
I nodded reassuringly, then reached over and pat his arm comfortingly. "I'm sure everything will be all right, Inuyasha." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.   
  
"Thanks. Sorry for keeping you up. You can go to sleep, now.."   
  
"_On that, you can rely._"   
  
I continued to smile obliviously at him for a few moments, to caught up in his nice smile to make any coherent response. When I finally came to after a few moments, I understandably turned beet red. "Y-yeah. Thanks." Thankful for the dark, I curled up slightly on my side, letting my eyes drift shut. I could have sworn I heard Inuyasha whisper Humphrey Bogart's famous line.   
  
"Here's lookin' at you, kid."   
  
"_No matter what the future brings as time goes by.._"   
  
.:end chapter five:.   
  
AN: I'm SO sorry this took so long for me to put out! School decided to knock me out, these past couple of weeks. But at least I met my deadline!   
  
All previously mentioned movies belong to their respected owners.   
  
Explanations: Inuyasha told 'Kekki' about his parents splitting up because, well, you'll see in the next chapter (I'm bad, I know. -.-) The rest of the group DOES know that Inuyasha's parent's are splitting up, which I'll get into more depth with in chapter six. I'm sorry for being misleading. -.- 


	6. Walk like a man, talk like a man

Explanations (I REALLY need to stop making dumb mistakes): Patriots and Giants—Thanks Meowth for pointing that out. My excuse for the dumb mistake? It was late, I was rushing to beat my deadline, and I'm just dumb. x.x; I got my sports mixed up. Just switch the Patriots with something like the Yankees.   
  
Miroku dropped Sango and Kagome off late Friday night, and the other's came on Saturday in the afternoon.   
  
My grammar sucks. Sorry x.x;   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Six: Walk like a man, talk like a man…  
By Clara  


  
  
Morning came and I found my self in a rather awkward position. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't curled up against Inuyasha with my arms around his waist and him with his arm around my shoulders or something cheesy like that. I could only wish. No, I had somehow squirmed my way half off the couch and was currently resting my head half way against Inuyasha's leg. Immediately, I turned bright red and pulled myself up, crawling underneath the blanket and onto the floor. Inuyasha stirred slightly, and Sango grumbled, curling the blankets closer against her and Miroku.   
  
Aww. I was going to give her hell for that, mind you. She deserved to be teased too, once in a while.   
  
After I somehow managed to untangle myself from the blanket, I just stood there for a minute, looking around. Somewhere in the middle of our movie marathon, I had left to change into a pair of sweats and a white short-sleeved shirt, since I had figured that it wouldn't be exactly comfortable sleeping on the same couch as Miroku and only wearing a yellow sundress. I yawned, stretched, then jumped so high I nearly hit the ceiling when the doorbell rang. Eiji's eyes snapped open, and he looked around in slight confusion until his eyes met mine. He blinked, then reached over to the side of the couch where he had left his glasses and slipped them back onto his nose.   
  
"'Morning, Kekki…" he mumbled around a wide yawn. "What time is it?"   
  
I looked around until I found the digital clock that somehow had been tossed across the room. I frowned, then tilted my head to the side, in order to read the upside down numbers. "Eight a.m."   
  
Eiji groaned in annoyance, dropping his head back against the cushions and not bothering to take off his glasses. "Wake me up in three hours."   
  
I shook my head slightly, walking over to the door. The insistent person rang the doorbell again, but this time didn't release it. Instead, he or she practically _leaned_ on it, thus waking up the rest of our motley crew. Kikyo muttered something extremely unlady like, and extremely un-Kikyo like, then pulled the blanket over her head and ears.   
  
"I'm coming, for chrissakes!" I shouted at the door. I picked my way through the piles of chips and random shoes, then swung my door open, face clearly showing my annoyance.   
  
The boy on the other side of the door blinked back at me.   
  
"Hi," he greeted, and I blinked at him. For a moment I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The boy had silvery white hair.   
  
"Uh, hi," I answered so very intelligently. "Um, are you looking for someone?"   
  
Truthfully, the boy was unnerving me. Or perhaps I should call him a man. He looked like he was about in his early twenties and had very, very pretty features. Judging by the dark circles and the five-o-clock shadow on his face, though, it was pretty obvious he didn't get much sleep the night before.   
  
"Actually, I'm looking for my brother Inuyasha. He said he was going to be here tonight?"   
  
I blinked again, pulling the door open all the way. It was hard to believe those two were related. As attractive as Inuyasha was, he was nowhere near as pretty as this boy. Weeeellll… that's not entirely the truth. Inuyasha _was_ as pretty as this boy, but in a different kind of way. He was a more… rugged type. This boy who was standing in front of me had more angular features, but at the same time softer. He looked womanly.   
  
"Uh, yeah, he's on that couch over there…" I waved my hand to where Inuyasha was sleeping. He had curled up slightly on his side, his hair falling over his face to hide it slightly. I firmly squashed the temptation of wanting to run over there and run my fingers through Inuyasha's hair.   
  
I had it bad.   
  
The boy nodded, then looked at me as if asking permission to come in. I blushed in slight embarrassment, then nodded and swung the door open all the way. He smiled slightly at me, then walked over to Inuyasha's side and sat down, right where I had been sleeping.   
  
Damnit, I had planned on returning back to that spot…   
  
"What happened?" Inuyasha asked, surprising me. I thought he was still asleep.   
  
"Dad left."   
  
Inuyasha froze for a moment, then made a small sound in the back of his throat. It sounded almost like a growl. "How's mom taking it?"   
  
The boy shook his head tiredly, white locks of hair following the movement. "Not very good. She kind of went into shock, then locked herself in her room. This was like at three a.m."   
  
"Sesshomaru..."   
  
"Look, Inuyasha, I know this is hard for you, but it's about ten times harder for Mom AND Dad to deal with."   
  
"Dad's a moron."   
  
"Yeah, I know. But you better go back home to Mom. As much as I love her, and she loves me, I think it would be better if her _real_ son would come back."   
  
I glanced at Sango, who was watching this goings on with one eye. She gave me a look, then mouthed to me that she would explain everything later. I nodded slightly.   
  
Inuyasha sighed quietly, dropping his eyes closed for a moment. "Yeah, okay." He stood up and offered me a small smile. "Thanks for dealing with us for the night, Kekki."   
  
With that being said, him and his brother left my house, and I was left with a slightly empty feeling. As much as Inuyasha explained to me, he didn't tell me anything.   
  
*   
  
After the others left, and Sango stayed behind, I got a complete explanation on everything that was going on with Inuyasha's family. Well, actually, it was rather sketchy. We were sitting on my bed, Sango looking at an old photo album of mine with half-hearted interest.   
  
"Inuyasha told me everything yesterday."   
  
"I'm not surprised." Sango didn't even look up from my pictures. "I think he needed to get it out, yesterday. You know, have his own type of breakdown. 'Yasha's not a very emotional person, and when a thing like this happens, he just kinda... withdraws." She sighed quietly. "But I think yesterday it just all built up, and he had to talk about it, even to someone he didn't know, or you. After all, the rest of us were asleep and you were the only other one awake."   
  
"That still doesn't really explain it, though..."   
  
"Eh, maybe he just really liked you."   
  
I snorted and threw the pillow I had been hugging at her. She laughed and ducked, the pillow sailing over her head and hitting my wall with a resounding thump. We sat their for a few moments, utterly relaxed. I wanted my pillow back, though.   
  
"You know, Kagome, you suck at acting like a guy," Sango stated after a few moments.   
  
I glared at her, sliding down to lie on my stomach. "It's not as easy as it sounds. For one thing, I've been going to an all girl school _all_ my life. The only 'boy-like' things I've done is play baseball and… and… well, nothing else, I guess. Not only that, but I don't have any brothers to instruct me on how to act or something like that. Well, besides Souta, but he's only eleven. And my grandpa's a freak."   
  
Sango snorted, grabbing the pillow I had previously thrown at her and pulling it under her head. "That's a suitable excuse, I guess."   
  
"Well, can you help me?"   
  
Sango fell silent for a second, then nodded. "I'm sure I can think of some ways to help you. For one thing, don't sit so primly when you sit down. I've noticed that. You kinda sit too… well… you're posture's too good." She pulled herself up into a sitting position, then slouched over, resting her elbows on her knees. Her feet were rather far apart; let's just say more than shoulder width apart. "See, and then you kinda gotta act like you don't care at all."   
  
I pulled myself up, using her feet as leverage, then sat down beside her. I mimicked her perfectly.   
  
"Awesome. Now burp."   
  
"Burp?"   
  
"Yeah! Guys burp all the time."   
  
Okay, so I hadn't drunk any soda that day yet, or anything else for that matter. Not only _that_, but I _wasn't_ gassy.   
  
"*burp*"   
  
Sango looked at me for a few moments after I let out that pathetic belch, then burst out laughing. I glared evilly at her.   
  
"Excuse _me_ if I don't know how to pass gas well through my mouth!" I grumbled. That just made her laugh harder, and after I thought about it for a second, I started laughing too. During the end of my little laughing fit, I slipped back down to the floor and repositioned myself with my head in my hands.   
  
After we got a hold of ourselves, Sango cleared her throat, pat her chest with her fist, then let out the loudest, longest burp I had heard in the long time. I let out an undignified sound, then stared at her with a faint look of amazement and disgust. She grinned ruefully.   
  
"I bet you were one of those kids who could burp the alphabet when you were younger, huh?"   
  
"How did you know?!"   
  
"Intuition." I shot her an amused look. "There is NO way I can do something like that."   
  
"How about f…"   
  
"THAT is out of the question. I don't want to be smelly."   
  
Sango laughed again. "I was just kidding. That's gross, anyway. No gassy asses here, please."   
  
"How long have you been hanging out with the boys, Sango?"   
  
"Hm, for about fifteen years now. I was practically born in the same hospital room with Miroku. How come?"   
  
"It's noticeable."   
  
Sango grabbed the pillow and threw it at my face, catching me by surprise and hitting me dead on. I pulled it off my head, then flipped it under my arms. "Okay, what else?"   
  
"Guys like to prove their strength to other guys, or even girls. Expect a _lot_ of arm wrestling challenges when you're a boy, and guys trying to wrestle you when you're a girl. I privately think the guys like to wrestle us so much is because it gives them an excuse to lie on top of us. At least, that's Miroku's reason." She snorted. "Have you ever been drunk before?"   
  
"Um, well… not really…"   
  
"Expect a drinking match, then."   
  
I dropped my head from my hands and face first into my pillow, making small sounds of annoyance and disbelief. "Maybe… maybe I can say that 'Kagome' got killed in a car accident, fake a small funeral, legally change my name to Kekki, then move to your school." I pushed myself back up again, half heartedly glaring at her.   
  
Sango snorted at me. "I'd like to see how you'd explain that to all your other friends…"   
  
I wrapped my arms around my head. "Thanks for ruining my dreams!" I pulled myself up again to look back at her. "Hey, is their anyway I can get out of a drinking contest without looking like a total loser?"   
  
"No ma'am." Since I couldn't exactly answer that, Sango went on. "You gotta also remember not to talk so much. Don't ask to have any deep and meaningful conversations with the boys, they'll.. well, automatically they'll thing you're either gay or brought up in an atmosphere surrounded by girls."   
  
"But I was!"   
  
"That's irrelevant right now, isn't it? Anyway, some other things is that you gotta eat a lot, and fast..."   
  
"Aren't you being pretty stereotypical?"   
  
"AND... we really got to do something about that burp. Spit a lot, too."   
  
"Spit?"   
  
"Yeah, yanno, hock loogies and stuff."   
  
"Are you actually suggesting for me to spit snot?"   
  
"Well.. yeah."   
  
"That is the most unsexy thing I've ever heard."   
  
"For a girl, maybe, but for boys it's just a natural every day occurrence."   
  
"So, you want me to be flatulent, piggy, drooly, and a drunk?"   
  
"Yep. And... even though you have boy uniforms, I haven't seen you in any regular clothes, except at the festival. Where do you keep your clothes?"   
  
"In my closet." I paused, then shook my head. "It's a wonder that guys can still be so attractive after they do all this kinda stuff..."   
  
Sango nodded, then got up and walked over to said area, pushing my door open. She looked around for a few moments. "Well, yeah, but Inuyasha and the other's are a bit more classy than that... unless they're drunk." I shot her a deadly glare, which she couldn't see because she was in my closet. Oh well, it was the thought that counted. "Uh, where?"   
  
"The left side."   
  
"Where?"   
  
I blinked at the closet where she was at. "Don't you see it? The khakis, the shirts, the..."   
  
"Good GOD girl, do you have a sense of taste at all?!" came Sango's disbelieving cry.   
  
I bristled slightly. "What's wrong with those clothes? My grandpa helped me pick them out..."   
  
"Let me tell you, girl, your grandpa's still living in the nineteenth century or something. Man, these outfits are _tacky_. Did you actually plan on wearing floral print shirts?"   
  
"Well, what do I know about fashion?! For boys, that is."   
  
Sango came out of my closet, holding a large bundle of my male clothing. She gave me a look that clearly stated I was insane, then dropped all my clothes on the bed. "These are all going to Goodwill. Or Salvation Army."   
  
"Those cost money, though!"   
  
"Well, they're going to the needy. Think of it as a donation. That is, if anyone will take them..." She grabbed my by my arm, then hauled me to my feet. "C'mon. We're going shopping." Sango shook her head in disbelief as she dragged me out of my room. "I swear, girl, didn't you ever crush on boys?   
  
"Well, yeah, but I wasn't exactly paying attention to their clothing. I mean, jeez. Besides, I've never had any _time_ for boys. I'm pretty bogged down with school, yanno..."   
  
"Yeah, yeah." She paused, then turned around and winked at me. "So, I guess you're getting more interested now, huh? Too bad you couldn't get roomed with Inuyasha..."   
  
I kicked the back of her foot lightly. "Shut up!"   
  
*   
  
I hated shopping. I always have, and I always will. Number one, malls get very crowded, and people talk really loud. Not only that, but they also walk SO. FREAKING. SLOW. It's like, they have no destination what's so ever, so they just walk super slow to look at all the pretty shops they could go in to. What am I talking about? That IS what they do! And it drives me insane!   
  
So there Sango and I were, walking behind an elderly lady who had to pause every five seconds to look at the 'darling shop'. I probably wouldn't be so vitriolic towards her, but with every step she took, she swung a huge bag behind her, managing to smack me in the stomach every time. Believe me, I _did_ try to dodge that evil bag, but it didn't matter. It was almost as if I were a magnet, and the bag was a paper clip. Every step I took, it followed. I was near positive that I was going to have a couple new bruises added to the pretty patchwork I had on my stomach due to Miroku.   
  
"You have money, right?"   
  
"I gotta fifty in one of my pockets here..."   
  
Sango stared at me for a moment, then sighed, abruptly turning around. One guy had to dodge around us, since he was walking so close behind us. "Forget it. I guess we _will_ be going to Good Will for your clothes."   
  
"What? Why?" I turned around too, quickening my pace in order to keep up with her. "What's wrong with fifty bucks?"   
  
"With that, hun, you'll be able to buy a pair of pants, and maybe a shirt. That's it."   
  
I frowned. "Well, that's dumb. Where's the Good Will?"   
  
So, there we were, wasting gas and driving back and forth between location A to location B, grumping about this and that. No, I didn't have a car, and yes, I WAS using my mother's.   
  
It didn't take us that long to get to Good Will... what we really got stuck on was after we got _inside_ Good Will.   
  
"Wow, this is so cute! Here, try it on." Sango paused for a second, then grabbed about five million more items and tossed them into my arms. "Here! The dressing room is in the back of the store..."   
  
_Good Will has dressing rooms?_ I mused, meandering around large racks brimming with clothing. Sure enough, as I reached the back of the store, there was a large sign with the words "Lady's Dressing Room" printed over the doors. I shook my head, then pushed my way in, locking the crummy door behind me. As soon as I entered this tiny room, I was flooded with a rather annoying muzak. I scowled at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to locate the speaker that I just knew was directly over my head. I gave up after a few moments, then stripped down to my bare essentials (I did not take off my undies, thankyouverymuch) and grabbed the first outfit.   
  
Sango has interesting taste. She doesn't go for the normality, let me tell you. I found myself trying on several different types of outfits, all of them attractive in their own ways.   
  
After going through each outfit and discarding the ones I didn't like, I pulled on the last outfit. It was rather attractive in its own, strange way. Black slacks and a white button up shirt...   
  
Good for my, well, girlness.   
  
So I waltzed out of the dressing room, glittering, excited eyes. Here I had about ten great new outfits, and altogether everything cost _less_ than fifty bucks.   
  
So I thought. I didn't exactly realize how _much_ less it was...   
  
"You look happy," Sango said, snorting. I nodded cheerfully.   
  
"After we buy these, I'm going to put on one of these outfits. I wanna try it out."   
  
*   
  
After I dropped Sango off at her house, I stopped by the ice cream shoppé to grab a burger and some fries. I was wearing one of my new outfits, so therefore, at the moment, I looked like a boy.   
  
Pop Jordan greeted me with her usual smile. Yes, Pop Jordan was a girl. During my stay at St. Bernard's School for Special Boys, and because of the many after school stops at the ice cream shoppé, Pop Jordan and I got acquainted like old friends. Mainly because she was so close to my 'group', and a new friend of theirs would always be a new friend of hers.   
  
It's cheesy, but cool. We get discounts.   
  
"Hey, Kagome," Pop Jordan greeted, wiping one of the glasses dry. "What would you like today?"   
  
"Chocolate malt and a burger, please," I ordered, my usual order. "Oh, and a side order of onion rings... and, well, a BLT, an extra order of fries, and a.." I paused, tapping my chin. "A glass of water."   
  
Pop Jordan nodded, a slightly disbelieving look on her face, and I meandered off to where I usually sat.   
  
Hey. I was hungry.   
  
Surprisingly, a familiar head of long black hair was seated at the farthest corner of our booth, looking out the window with what I imagined the most desolate expression.   
  
"Hey, 'yasha."   
  
Inuyasha looked quickly at me. "Oh, hey Kagome."   
  
I slid across of him, folding my arms on the table. "Kekki said all you guys crashed at my house last night. Sorry I wasn't there, but my grandpa was really sick."   
  
"I thought it was your grandma who was sick.."   
  
"Uh, her too."   
  
"That sucks. Uh, did she.. tell you anything I said?"   
  
"Well, no, but she told me you would probably tell me when you saw me again."   
  
Inuyasha nodded quickly, then ran his fingers through his long hair. "Actually, I kinda had a favor to ask of you..."   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"There's a lot of stuff that's going on in my house right now... my dad left last night again, but he came back later in the afternoon..."   
  
"That's good, isn't it?"   
  
"..to get his stuff."   
  
I fell silent. Ouch.   
  
"Anyway, my parent's are going through a really rocky divorce right now, and well..." He paused nervously, grabbing a fry from his try and popping it in his mouth. At the same time, Pop Jordan brought my burger and malt to me. She took stock of the serious look on Inuyasha's usually scheming face, then walked off quietly. I loved Pop Jordan. She knew when to start idle chitchat, and when not to.   
  
"Well what?"   
  
"Well..." he stopped again, abruptly, the curtains drawing over his face again. "Nevermind. I'll probably ask you later. It's not important, now."   
  
I opened my mouth, probably to demand an explanation, then snapped it shut again. I could have pried into his rather misleading question, but... well, I _was_, after all, trying to break the habit of sticking my foot as far as it could go in my mouth. So instead I just nodded understandingly.   
  
Unknowingly winning some more of Inuyasha's trust.   
  
Inuyasha pushed around his last fry with halfhearted interest, then sighed. "Hey, I'll see you later, okay? I got some stuff I need to do and whatnot."   
  
I nodded, my mouth to full of burger to respond, then waved. Inuyasha didn't say any other form of goodbye, just turned around and walked out of the restaurant. I made an ugly face at his back., partially because of annoyance, and partially because my cheeks were inflated wither burger, largely resembling a chipmunk's cheeks. Sure, he treated 'Kekki' like an old friend, but 'Kagome' like... well... not like how he treated Kekki.   
  
I swallowed convulsively at that thought, nearly choking in my burger. Did that... well, did that mean something? I sighed, then took a sip of my drink. Damn Inuyasha, always making me think.   
  
As I took the last bites of my feast, Pop Jordan slid across from me in the empty booth and placed the bill in front of me. I smiled at her, then glanced down at the bill.   
  
And gasped.   
  
Pop Jordan sighed knowingly. "You don't have enough, do you?"   
  
I shook my head, making a small sound in the back of my throat.   
  
"You know, Kagome, we _don't_ have tabs here, and as much as I like you..."   
  
I looked up at her dreadingly.   
  
"Looks like you got yourself a new job, hun."   
  
I dropped my head on the table.   
  
.:end chapter six:.   
  
Psst! People! I'm not saying all boys fit the description of Sango's... Bear with me, m'kay? ^^   
  
Thanks to everyone, btw! 


	7. Workin' like a dog, sleepin' like a log

AN: Reference to a different anime in this chapter. Kudos to those who can find it (as if it isn't blatantly obvious).   
  
*   
  
"Kagome! KAGOME! Wake up!"   
  
I shot into a sitting position, as usual. "Wha...? Huh...? Hojou?"   
  
"Sorry, Kagome, I just didn't want you to be late for your first period!"   
  
"OH SHIT!" Automatically, I jumped out of my bed. As Murphy's Law would have it, my feet got tangled in my sheets, and I went sprawling face first into the ground. Not even pausing to rub my poor, offended nose, I leapt at top speeds toward my closet, tripping over this and that.   
  
"Oi! Kagome! Don't worry, we have two hours before our classes start..."   
  
I stopped in mid-step.   
  
"Hojou?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"I am going to KILL YOU!"   
  
And so started another week at St. Bernard's School for Special Boys.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Seven: Workin' like a dog, sleepin' like a log  
by Clara

  
  
As luck would have it, Miroku wandered in before I could strangle the living daylights out of the oblivious teenager, although him cheering me on did nothing to subdue me. Eventually, I gave up on trying to murder Hojou and crawled back into my bed (due to the fact that for some reason, my head was spinning), ignoring Miroku who was still laughing at the foot of the doorway. I told him to go to many different places, trailing off at some island in the Pacific Ocean to fall back asleep.   
  
My second wake up call was to Inuyasha pounding on my door, warning me that I was going to be late to our first class if I didn't get my ass out of bed. When I didn't answer him, my guess is that he got curious and decided to see _just_ what was going on with me, or perhaps to see if I was even still there.   
  
"Hey, Kagome, what's wrong with you?"   
  
"Leeme alone," I ordered, pulling the pillow over my head. And what a crazy head it was turning out to be, what with all the spinning it was doing! Hell, the entire room was spinning, and my eyes were closed. Go figure.   
  
"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked. His voice came to my ears in an altered state, and all at once my head started pounding. I'm not talking about one of those headaches that make you wince and maybe rub your temples, I'm talking about one of those headaches where the blood rushes to your ears and you get this sharp ringing sound reverbrating in your head and little annoying red blobs that dance behind your eyelids. Inuyasha's voice, however nice it was, was _not_ doing anything to ease this headache, mind you.   
  
My use of vocal chords died away at that moment, so I just grunted at him in response.   
  
"No, serious Kagome, you sound like shit."   
  
"Gee, man, you know just how to comfort a guy," I managed hoarsely. Great, now there was one of those battering rams in my throat.   
  
"I try. Do you got a fever?"   
  
I shook my head no. Actually, it didn't exactly matter what I did, since my pillow was covering my face. Well, maybe it did kind of matter. My head moved faster than my brain, and I ended up with this terrible headrush. "Dunno," I answered shortly.   
  
"Huh," Inuyasha eloquently said. "I'll tell the nurse about it during lunch or something, kay?"   
  
I nodded, but that didn't matter either. It wasn't exactly what you would call the smartest thing to do anyway.   
  
"My guess is that you're not going to your classes, either?"   
  
"Gunna get killed?"   
  
"Nah. You'll just have a lot of make-up stuff to do. I'll tell your teachers, kay? Well, whatever teachers that I have a class in that you have, if that made any sense..."   
  
"Don't go out of your way or nothing, man," I grumbled, pushing the pillow farther against my face, perhaps in hopes of suffocating myself. My throat really, really hurt.   
  
"That's gratitude for ya! You might wanna call Pop while you're dying. She'll want a good reason as to why you're not there for your first day of work."   
  
I groaned. Oh, great. I forgot about that. "Yeah, yeah. Get outta here."   
  
I wasn't able to see when he left, though, since after I managed to squeeze those few words past my constricted throat, Mr. Sandman dropped a twenty pound bag of sleepy sand on my head and knocked me out.   
  
*   
  
I actually didn't dream. Or maybe I did, but the point is, I couldn't remember them. I couldn't remember much, actually, since I borderline dying. Okay, so I wasn't, but for a moment imagine. I had one of those sicknesses where your ears were stuffy, your nose was stuffy, your throat was stuffy… hell, _everything_ was stuffy. After I woke up, I had to breathe through my mouth. Unfortunately, my throat felt like it was fire, so breathing became an almost impossible task. I don't even want to _talk_ about the cough I got.   
  
"Hmmm…" I managed thoughtfully after a few moments of silently suffering. I had a devious, devious plan for revenge. Smugly, I stood up, only to sit back down heavily once again. Gotta love those head rushes.   
  
After a few moments of ordering my head to go back to normality, I stood up again, despite my awful faint feeling. After I managed to get to my feet, I stumbled carefully towards Hojou's bed, then sat down heavily on it. Well, that part was done. What next?   
  
I grinned evilly. Oh yeah.   
  
Reaching over to the head of his bed carefully, I grabbed his pillow and lifted it to my mouth.   
  
Then coughed.   
  
An awful coughs, mind you… the one where the phlegm bubbles in your throat and you sound like a dying cow. It was a thorough cough, too. One of those germ spreading coughs that makes people hold their breath until you're done coughing, in fear that they might inhale some of your disease.   
  
All over Hojou's pillow.   
  
Smugly, I crawled back out of his bed and back to the floor. I didn't bother with walking again, due to the fact that since I was crawling so close to the ground, I had a shorter length to fall. I made it back to my bed, hauled myself on the nice covers, then fell back asleep like that.   
  
Oh yeah, I'm a bright one. I was sick, it was cold, and I didn't put the blankets over me. What a way to prolong recovery!   
  
*   
  
I woke up again later to several faces peering over me curiously, a couple of them wearing those disease masks that surgeons wear. About here was where I was at the peak of my disease—delusional, hearing things, imagining things, having problems making the connections in my head…   
  
So I automatically thought that I was going into surgery. Bear with me here.   
  
"How's he doing?" asked Doctor Inuyasha. He wasn't wearing a surgeon's mask. I wondered why, after all, you're not supposed to breathe on people's organs. That's just not healthy.   
  
"He looks pretty shitty," Doctor Miroku admonished. I looked blearily at him, then groaned out a protest. Put away that scalpel! I don't want to be cut up!   
  
Nurse Eiji reached over and felt my forehead. His hands were freezing. So very damn cold. And where were his gloves? "Man, the guy's got a bad fever."   
  
I coughed at him in annoyance. No shit, Sherlock.   
  
"Lucky bastard. That means he doesn't have to go to classes." Nurse Kouga decided to make his appearance, here. I coughed at him, too, hoping to spread my 'luck'. He held his breath.   
  
"Sucks for him. Maybe someone should go to Pop Jordan's to let her know he's not coming today. I don't think he'll be doing much for the next couple of hours…" Thank you, Nurse Eiji, for your insightful way of stating the obvious.   
  
"Next couple of days, even."   
  
Well, now, since the lot of you are doing a great job of letting me know what I _already_ know, how 'bout if you get the hell outta here and let me sleep?   
  
"Wonder if he'll be going to the beginning of the year dance," Kouga pondered out loud. "Better yet, wonder if his sister would like to go..."   
  
With you? Fat chance. I pulled my pillow over my face. The four stooges didn't notice it.   
  
"With you? Fat chance, buddy." Thank you, Inuyasha, for reading my thoughts.   
  
"Oh, yeah, you were hoping that she would go with you!"   
  
"Will you guys get the hell outta here?" I finally managed, after I realized that I was awake, not in an ER or surgery room or something, and after I remembered that I actually _did_ have vocal chords. Four people jumped in surprised unison, then looked down at me guiltily.   
  
"Sorry, Kag, didn't know you were awake, there…"   
  
"I _wouldn't_ be awake if it weren't for you guys, talking about my sister and stuff…"   
  
"Speaking of which, do you think she would want to go with me, 'Gome?" Kouga asked, completely ignoring my request for privacy. Miroku even sat on Hojou's bed. Good boy, now pick up that pillow and suffocate yourself with it. Or at least get my disease.   
  
"No, she hates you. Go away."   
  
"D… does she really?" Kouga almost sounded crestfallen.   
  
"No, you dumbass. She's only known you for like, one night. Not long enough to form a strong enough opinion of you. Can you guys _please_ go away now?" My head was doing some interesting things to me. I was almost positive that it was doing somersaults on my neck.   
  
"You get really pissy when you're sick, doncha Kagome?" Miroku quipped. I pushed my pillow from my face slightly, glaring at him with all I was worth for ignoring my peace request. He winced slightly. "And man, do you look like _shit_!"   
  
"Screw you." I growled, pulling my pillow back over my head. He snorted.   
  
"Sorry, man, but I don't swing that way."   
  
I pulled the pillow off my face again, about to ask him if that meant he liked boys, when I remembered that I, myself, was currently a boy. Frowning, I replaced the pillow over my head, not deigning him with an answer.   
  
A few moments after I did this, I fell back asleep, to the boys' insistent rambling.   
  
*   
  
Not to further bore you about my interesting flu experience, I'll fast forward to when I finally became well enough to actually start functioning again. I got a total of three days off, and most of those three days I spent in bed or playing cards with the boys. I learned some interesting card games, mind you. Have you ever heard of the card game called Asshole? No joke, that's actually what it's called. But since I can't remember the game, I can't tell you how it's played. My deepest apologies.   
  
So, anyway, I became fully coherent during the third day of my sickness, but I was still felt like my head was weighed down by snot and spit, and I still had those sneezes that made people check the back of their necks and coughs that made people turn their heads. As I walked to the door to the outside after I had finished my last class, Miroku chattered aimlessly about what I missed in our classes and how long I had to make it up. He also asked me what I thought of the scary school nurse who was checking on me while I was sick.   
  
"School nurse?" I asked, drawing up a blank. Miroku blinked at me.   
  
"Don't tell me you don't remember her, Kagome! She was there the entire time you were sick!"   
  
I paled considerably. Oh no. Oh nononono. That meant… that…   
  
"Hey!" Miroku called in surprise as I darted off. "Where are you going?! You have work in a couple minutes!"   
  
"Pop'll understand!" I called back, careening down the halls. "I got some important stuff I need to do!"   
  
One of the things you might realize about me is that I don't think. At all. Of course, I didn't think about asking Miroku just what the nurse's name was, but to me, at the moment, that didn't matter. I _had_ to make sure that this crazy nurse didn't know about my… well, secret. I quickly pushed open the sick room's door, eyes darting back and forth, trying to locate Miss nurse-lady.   
  
"Kagome!" A frighteningly familiar voice said. "It's good to see you up again. You had a nasty case of the flu, you know… I was afraid your fever would reach the point where we would had to take you to the hospital. It was already 103.5…"   
  
I turned around slowly. Sitting at one of the desks was a minimally attractive young lady, with a high long ponytail that was tied at the side of her head and poofy bangs… you know, like the retro-80's style. I was half surprised her shirt wasn't tied to the side with a scrunchie and she wasn't wearing spandex pants.   
  
On her desk, much like on Lady Kaede's desk, was a nameplate that said "Miss. Kodachi Kuno IV." I looked back up at her, hesitantly, wondering why on earth I recognized her name.   
  
There was… something about her face, too…   
  
"Hey, weren't you on the news awhile back? Something about a boy with several fiancée's chasing after him and ultimately blowing up a bridge?"   
  
The woman shifted slightly, looking faintly uncomfortable. Her smile tightened around the corners. "Well, yes." She changed the subject quickly. "Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Radiant smile.   
  
"Uh, did you… uh… take my heart beat or something?"   
  
"Well, no, but I did give you a frontal lobotomy!"   
  
My hand flew up to my forehead, and I stared at her with horrified eyes. "You did what?!"   
  
"Ohohoho! Dear, I was just kidding. But you must relax, I did nothing but give you your medicine and take your temperature. Would you have preferred me to track your heartbeat?"   
  
I paled, still in shock of her little 'joke'. "N-no, that's quite all right! Thanks!"   
  
Without further delay, I high-tailed it out of there. There hairs on the back of my neck were still standing on end.   
  
"Ta ta!" Her eerie voice wafted after me as I rushed as far away as I could from the sick room. And to think, _that_ was the lady who was taking care of Souta when he had been… hurt.   
  
*   
  
After that… interesting experience with Miss Kodachi Kuno IV, I headed back to my room. What I needed to relax was a nice, long shower. Hell knows I needed it, too. I wasn't exactly able to shower when I was sick, since I couldn't even walk around, anyway. Not only that, I had an interesting week. I sighed and walked in, stripping down to nothing and turning my water as hot as it could go.   
  
Unfortunately, as I started to heat up the shower, I kind of sort of forgot to lock my door. I didn't think it mattered, though, since Hojou was out with his friends somewhere. Yes, the jackass had friends.   
  
But let me tell you. I. Am. The. Biggest. Moron. In. The. World.   
  
So there I was, dancing around in my shower with nothing but my birthday suit on. Did I mention that my shower was _glass_?   
  
Let me tell you how this could be bad on several levels. If you're just picking up from here, well, I'm a _girl_ dressed as a boy in order to protect my baby brother from certain demise. So, not being able to be clothed and shower at the same time, I was revealed for the entire world to see.   
  
The entire world came in the form of one certain, very well known boy.   
  
"Kagome!" Was the only warning I got before my door burst open. "Hey! Why did you leave so sudden… sudden…"   
  
I froze. Miroku froze. We… well, stared at each other.   
  
Then I screamed and Miroku yelped, quickly zipping out of the room and slamming it shut behind him. I could hear him thump against the door in surprise, indicating he was leaning against it.   
  
Another reason it could be bad would be if a close friend of yours walked in on you when you were showering, as I just so intricately illustrated above. Turning many shades of white, and getting the uneasy feeling that I was about to pass out right in the middle of the shower, I shakily pulled myself out of the shower, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around my body. Hesitantly, I walked over to the door, chewing on my bottom lip until it was raw.   
  
"Miroku…? Are you still there?"   
  
There was silence, and for a moment I was afraid that he had left to spread the news about this new discovery. After a moment, though, I heard someone shifting around. "Yeah. Kagome, you have got a _lot_ of explaining to do."   
  
One other bad reason would be when this friend demands an explanation, after finding this out. It's also bad when this friend, someone who's usually light hearted and laughing sounds… emotionless. Paling _more_, if possible, I racked my brains for any possible excuses.   
  
I couldn't find any.   
  
"Y-yeah. Uh, lock the door, will ya?"   
  
There was another brief moment of silence, then a shuffling of someone walking. There was the telltale click of my door being locked, but I didn't leave the bathroom until I was assured that the door was locked.   
  
"Okay, Kagome."   
  
With a shaky hand, I pushed my bathroom door open.   
  
"Don't even think about telling me that you're coming to visit your damn 'brother' or something, and that you just decided to take a shower because you were feeling dirty. I won't believe it." I felt like crying. Miroku sounded so… so angry with me. Dropping my eyes to the ground, I edged to my bed, carefully avoiding Miroku. I could feel his gaze following me, though.   
  
I sat down heavily on my bed, still pale and shaky, and still feeling like I was going to cry. My system was in a shock right now, trust you me, and this isn't exactly the best thing when you're sick. So, after a small, but violent coughing attack, I finally got the guts to look my, well, guy best friend in the eye.   
  
Surprisingly, he didn't look as angry as he had before. I think my coughing fit raised some paternal instincts in him, because he looked a bit less tense and a lot more worried.   
  
"Well, that just proves to me further that you really _are_ Kagome, and not Kekki. Or is it the other way around?" He sat down across from me on Hojou's bed, looking at me analytically. When he saw that I was shivering, and that I was still soaked from the shower, he sighed. "Go get something on that's more than a towel before you explain this situation to me, but hurry."   
  
I nodded meekly, shooting to my feet and rushing back into the bathroom. I lingered in the bathroom longer than needed, brushing my hair at least four times. I didn't want to face Miroku and his accusing glare. Especially since I was forced to wear my 'male' clothing again, since I had no 'female' clothing.   
  
After a few moments of an internal battle, I exited the bathroom.   
  
Miroku looked at me expectantly, hands placed on either sides of his legs as a kind of… support, almost. I winced at him, then sat back down on my bed.   
  
"I really _am_ Kagome Higurashi," I started after a few moments. Miroku's expression remained blank, but he leaned over a little further to hear me better. I was, after all, talking in a rather soft voice. "I'm attending this school because my brother… my _real_ brother, Souta, was being beaten almost every day at his school. Grandpa decided that I would be his 'protector', almost, by attending the same school as him, in other words, St. Bernard's School for Special Boys." I stopped. There wasn't much more I could tell him.   
  
After a few moments of thoughtful silence, Miroku spoke again. "Why the hell didn't you tell us, then? I mean, we would have obviously accepted you." He paused thoughtfully and looked out the window. Well, from what he could see out the window. My shades were drawn. Of course, I remembered to draw my shades, but I didn't lock my door. "And why didn't you just go to the girl's school?"   
  
"I didn't know the girl's school existed!" I bit out, a little vehemently. His attention was automatically drawn back to my face. "Look, there's just a _couple_ reasons why I didn't tell you guys. Oh, here, let me just give you one through one million." I was getting angry, and I didn't have a right to be. I wasn't actually really angry, just… scared. I didn't want Miroku to hate me. "One, you guys would have treated me like a girl if you knew. If we were playing sports, you would walk around me as if I were glass instead of tackle me. You wouldn't treat me the same. That'd look good, wouldn't it? People would reeeeally think I was some _macho_ boy or something." I got up and started pacing. I knew I was rambling, but I couldn't help it. I was at the epitome of nervousness. "Two, I didn't know if I could trust you guys. Sure, _now_ you're all my best friends, but won't that be even worse? I suddenly flat out tell you guys that I'm a chick, and bam! You all feel betrayed and pissed, and hate me. Cause and effect."   
  
"Kagome…"   
  
I was on a roll, now. All this weight of guilt and fear was finally being slightly lifted from my shoulder. "Three, I reallyreallyREALLY want to be on the baseball team. Not just some stupid softball team or something, and if Inuyasha or any of you guys knew, then my chance on being on the team would automatically be gone. Like it or not, sexism STILL is a key here." I stopped again, trying to think of more reasons. "Four… four… well, I was just scared, alright?"   
  
There was that uncomfortable silence again… you know, the kind of silence you usually get during first dates, when you can't think of anything to talk about, so you both just… sit there awkwardly. I moved back to the bed, sitting back down on it. That little speech of mine really took a lot of energy out of me. "I mean, what if one of you guys decided that this needed to be taken to the teachers? Where would I be then? And then what would happen to my brother? Oh yeah, that'd be great for his rep. He needed his cross-dressing sister to protect him. I'd probably be permanently labeled as 'uber-dyke', then kicked out of the school." I glared at his stoic face half-heartedly. "And I _am_ straight, thankyouverymuch."   
  
Miroku was observing me thoughtfully, and once again I dropped my eyes to the floor. If anyone, the last person I wanted to hate me was Miroku. Well, Miroku and Inuyasha.   
  
"Kagome…" Miroku started again, then heaved a great sigh. "Look, Kagome, I'm not mad, alright? I was just a bit surprised. Give me some credit, okay?" He ran his fingers through his hair, standing up. "I mean, it isn't every day you walk into one of your best friend's bathroom and find out that _he_ is really a _she_." I nodded slowly. "Does anyone else know, or is it just me?"   
  
"Only you, Sango and Souta know," I mumbled, hunching over myself. Miroku blinked.   
  
"That explains a lot." A pause. "How does Sango know?"   
  
"Well, it's kind of an… interesting story," I said nervously. "Remember after the festival, when Sango needed to talk to me? Well, I was a dumbass and jumped to conclusions, not bothering to listen to what she had to ask. I thought she had a crush on me, or something. The male me, that is. So I blurted out that I was really a girl, showed her proof… get that perverted look off your face, I just showed her some cleavage, and that was that."   
  
"What did she really call you for?"   
  
"Well, uh, she thought I was gay." Miroku snorted, and I glared at him. "Hey, give _me_ some credit here. I've never done this before, right?"   
  
Miroku walked to my side, and sat on my bed beside me. I think, now that he actually paid attention, he realized _just_ how much smaller I was compared to him.   
  
"Hey," I asked, after a few moments. "You don't hate me, do you?"   
  
"Nah. You have a good enough reason for me not to. Sorry for getting all offended, I was just surprised."   
  
I nodded. "Sorry for not telling you, Priest, but yeah." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "You're not going to tell Inuyasha, are you?"   
  
"Although I think I should, I'll leave that up to you. Why are you so against telling Inuyasha?"   
  
Because he'll hate me. "Because I want to be on the team."   
  
"All right. One more question."   
  
I turned my head to look at him fully. "Yeah?"   
  
"Will you go to that dance with me?"   
  
I elbowed him in the stomach.   
  
*   
  
"This has to be the weirdest couple days of my life," I informed Pop when I got to the shoppé. She grinned at me.   
  
"Hoi, Kagome, when you get as old as me, you'll get a lot of those days." She wiped the counter down with her rag. "How are you feeling? I heard you had a nasty case of the flu. Oh, you're apron is in the back, okay?" That was Pop for ya… random as they get.   
  
"I'm doing good," I assured her. "Just got a stuffed nose. But I'm not contagious anymore." I walked over to the door that would take me to the back and pushed my way in. There it was, a the tacky bright red apron with little pink swirlies on it. I groaned. Oh, what a way to be a manly man! I sighed and grabbed the apron, pulling it over my head then tying it securely around my back.   
  
My first day of work. Oh, this should be fun.   
  
.:end chapter 7:.   
  
A/N: Unfortunately, these chapters are progressively getting shorter and shorter. My apologies.   
  
To issue a small token of advice.. BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU DRIVE! I got in my first accident, and let me tell you, that was one of _the_ scariest incidents in my life. I'm okay though, the guy's okay, and there's only minimal damage to each cars. I think I'm a nervous wreck right now, though...   
  
One last thing. There will be NO Miroku/Kagome romance in this. NONE. N-O-N-E. I just like the thought of them being good friends in this story. 


	8. Cat and Mouse

Being that I wasn't exactly of legal age, Pop Taylor made me serve the tables instead of working the cash register. When I asked her why I couldn't, she explained that I had to be at least eighteen years old. I was off by a year. She also said that they would probably want a "good looking young man" serving them, and not a cranky old lady. So what I had to deal with were giggly teenyboppers who were several years younger than me asking for my number.   
  
That was beyond terrible.   
  
Anyway, as I was balancing two trays on each arm with surprising precision (Pop had already threatened me with my life for breaking a whole butt-load of dishes), a boy who looked about my age walked into Pop Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppé. He carried himself with such precision and such grace that I didn't see the group of followers trailing closely behind him until all of them entered and sat down at the booth that _my_ group usually sat at. Yes, at this point, I was already referring to them in a possessive form.   
  
This group held themselves like a group of supermodels, noses in the air and chins up, as if they were balancing something on their face and if they moved, it would fall. The one who walked first sat at the head of the table with his back rim rod straight. He was obviously the leader. I hesitantly walked up to this group, keenly aware of my untied shoes and my sloppy hair. Groups like this did that to you. They weren't anything like my group, rambling and laughing and shouting their minds out… oh no, they were _much_ more sophisticated than that.   
  
"Welcome to Pop Taylor's!" I said, plastering a fake smile on my face. Okay, so I was uneasy. For some reason, they reminded me of Inuyasha's brother. Kind of… well, all of them were slightly effeminate. The girls were epitome of girls, and the boys looked as if they wanted to be girls. Except one, but I'll explain him later.   
  
The boy with a long braid looked me over, gauging to see if I was 'cool' enough to speak to them. I guess I didn't make the cut, because his slightly interested look turned calculating. It was almost as if he could see how much money I had in my pockets—which, at the moment, was a measly ten bucks. Hey, it was my first day. What makes you think I'd get a pay check yet?   
  
"I'll be your waiter. My name's Kagome and…"   
  
"Cut to the chase," the leader said, throwing me a haughty look. "You _must_ be new here, if you don't know who _we_ are."   
  
I wanted to sock Mr. Supermodel in the face.   
  
"Really, Naraku," the girl to his left admonished in a silky voice. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to get on the poor boy's case." She flashed me a scintillating smile, then ran her long fingernails against the length of Naraku's arm. The look she was giving me turned predatory. "What Naraku was trying to say is that we already know what our orders are. I'll have a salad."   
  
I nodded, writing down their orders on the small notepad that Pop had armed me with. All their orders were light and grease free—well, except the meek boy that sat to the side of the braided boy.   
  
Let me tell you about this boy. He didn't fit in at _all_ with this group of supermodels. His beady eyes that were magnified by thick glasses were always darting back and forth expectantly and… he wasn't exactly what one would call 'slender'. In fact, he was rather… round. Another thing about this boy was his lack of hair. It didn't look like he shaved his head… no; his head was smoother than that. He was like Charlie Brown, with exactly four strands of hair combed to the side as if to hide a bald spot. Or in this case, a bald head.   
  
"I'll… I'll have a double decker cheeseburger with extra onions," the meek boy informed me. I scribbled the order down. "And... and a large chocolate malt and a medium pizza."   
  
The people at the table shared a slightly disgusted look (well, all but the boy with the braid), then turned unanimous looks at… well, the braided boy.   
  
"Really, Manten," the braided boy admonished. "All that grease might make you break out." But instead of making fun of the boy, or calling him disgusting, or giving him a disgusted look, he just smiled, then turned to me. My opinion of him tentatively rose higher. "I'll have a cheeseburger, but with no onions or tomatoes. Oh, and a large Coke, please."   
  
Manten smiled uneasily, seemingly glad not to be ragged on by the other boy. I was slightly confused, though, as to _why_ he didn't rag on him…   
  
"Hmmph," the pretty girl said. "You should speak, Hiten. Cheeseburgers are _so_ unhealthy."   
  
Hiten smiled chillingly at the girl. "You're mistaken. You see, I'm getting the same amount of nutrients as you are from your salad with my cheeseburger… if you have dressing on your salad. So, Kagura, I would refrain from commenting."   
  
It was my turn to smile uneasily, and I turned to the last person ordering.   
  
Then paled.   
  
Lounging at the end of the table was Yura of the hair, playing cats cradle and observing me with a smile that suited the game she was playing.   
  
Catty. Meeeeow.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Eight: Cat and Mouse  
By Clara

  
  
Yura did the intricate twist with her hands, and the strings became limp. She never took that feline smile from her face, and she never, not for one moment, turned away from me.   
  
"I'll take the Caesar salad, please," she said. She didn't blink. I wondered how long it would be before she blinked again. Someone could only go so long without blinking before their retinas dry and their eyes fall out. Or maybe that's just me. I'm not a dictionary.   
  
Bite me if you think I was going to be the first to break the staring contest.   
  
I smiled falsely and nodded at her, then wrote down her order without looking at my pad. When I looked at it later, I would notice that her order overlapped 'Naraku's'… but let me tell you something. I didn't care. As it turned out, I was the first one who was forced to take my eyes from her. I didn't want to, but I could feel Pop's curious gaze at the back of my neck, and in the fear of being yelled at or sent to do dishes, I made a hasty retreat to my safehold. The kitchen.   
  
I, of course, didn't miss the predatory remark that escaped from her fanged mouth.   
  
"Well well well. This should be fun."   
  
*   
  
I stayed crouched behind the counter (much to Pop's amusement), until some member of the group called for me or until their food came. Pop could probably tell I was thinking about doing something nasty to their food, because every time I happened to pass her, she gave me this strict warning look.   
  
In all, me waiting on this group became like a storybook. There was a middle, there was an end, and in between there was a plot that went from stage one to stage a billion, then finally to the climax. Let's start with stage one.   
  
Stage one: I brought them their drinks. I balanced the heavy tray nimbly, dodging around tables and people and, surprisingly, Professor Myouga. Let me tell you, he turned up in the weirdest places.   
  
"Hello, Kagome," Myouga greeted with practiced grace. "I didn't know you worked here."   
  
"Yeah, new job. I didn't know you ate here." So I was delaying serving our new antagonists. Bear with me; they were scary.   
  
"I used to teach Pop when she came to St. Bernard's."   
  
I blinked. Then blinked again. Then blinked… well, one more time. Can you sense my confusion here? "Uh… did Pop get a sex change, or something…?"   
  
"Waiter?" Hiten called, sounding slightly bored.   
  
Professor Myouga laughed a hearty laugh, shaking his head. "No, no. I worked at St. Bernard's School for Special Girls before I worked at the boys' school. Would you believe that Pop excelled in literature? She would have made a wonderful author. I wonder what caused her to pursue business in culinary?"   
  
I was surprised. Pop didn't exactly come off as the 'writer' type to me.   
  
"Waiter!" His voice became more insistent.   
  
"I did _not_ know that!" I continued, ignoring Hiten. My arm was starting to get tired. Professor Myouga's eyes darted toward the group and he sighed.   
  
"Kagome…" was all he said, but I got the picture.   
  
"All right, all ri…"   
  
"WAITER!"   
  
I high-tailed it back to their table, before they complained to Pop. Frowning at Hiten, even though he was the only one (besides Manten), who's presence I _could_ stand, I carefully set the tray on the table that no one was sitting at and served each person their drinks. Yura smiled eerily at me, then took her drink and sipped from it.   
  
Then frowned.   
  
"This isn't the drink I ordered."   
  
Automatically, I grabbed her drink. "I'll get you another one," I murmured, then quickly started to walk off.   
  
"Remember, I ordered a Dr. Pepper!" she called to my stiff back. I didn't acknowledge her, and continued to walk.   
  
Stage two was when I returned with Yura's drink. Kagura was observing me with a now reinterested look.   
  
"You seem to be awfully familiar with Yura," Kagura idly said as I sat the drink in front of the aforementioned. "Are you two, perhaps, going out?"   
  
Yura laughed uproariously at that, and I blushed slightly. "No, no. I'm single." I quickly reassured her. Kagura looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned.   
  
"That's good! That means you're free for grabbing!"   
  
Wow. Talk about digging yourself even deeper.   
  
Yura, for some reason, thought this was even funnier.   
  
Stage three consisted of two parts: me serving this odd group, and Inuyasha and the others deciding they were hungry. This was the climax. They entered Pop's right when I was balancing the food on my left hand.   
  
I almost dropped the tray. I wish I did.   
  
Sango took one look at the direction I was heading, then got this really ugly expression on her face. The others followed her gaze, and their reflections mirrored hers. Naraku's group saw mine, and their faces turned evil and grimacing. I stood in the middle of these groups, highly out of place.   
  
"Uh, hi you guys…" I greeted, shifting from foot to foot. My, this tray was heavy…   
  
"Hello, Kagome," Sango greeted in this monotonous voice. Here's where I became more uncomfortable. Sango _never_ sounded monotonous. I glanced at Miroku. He knew everything.   
  
Involuntarily, I took a step back. Miroku looked positively _murderous_.   
  
"Here, Kagome…" Miroku said, his voice saccharine sweet. "Let me help you lighten that tray of yours." He cleared the distance we had between ourselves in two steps, grabbing the refill of the chocolate malt Manten had ordered. He smiled viciously, then turned it upside down over Hiten's head.   
  
Oh boy.   
  
I watched in horrified fascination as glops of the sweet liquid dropped from the cup and into Hiten's lovely hair. No one in the vicinity moved… they just _stared_. I turned my head marginally to glance at Pop. She was shaking her head with a slightly tired look on her face, implying that she most likely got this _a lot_.   
  
You know when you're watching a movie and you really love the special effects, you press pause and then fast forward and everything moves in slow motion? Or how about when the movie does that itself for you, and then focuses on this one solitary object (in this case, the chocolate malt being emptied on Hiten), and then BOOM! everything moves at rapid pace again?   
  
That's what happened right then.   
  
For a moment, everyone was too shocked to move. Then Hiten let out this animalistic growl and launched himself and Miroku's throat. They came sailing into me, and up went the tray. And what comes up must come down, so says the law of gravity. And since the tray and its contents still followed this law, pizza and burgers and salad came raining down on us like a colorful blizzard. I got doused in orange soda, and as attractive as Inuyasha was, half of a burger did _not_ suit him well.   
  
I let out a small yelp and quickly scrambled to my feet, dancing away from the brawling boys and unsuccessfully trying to clear the sticky solution from my eyes. I blinked repeatedly, able to clear my eyes just in time to see Inuyasha catch Naraku in this beautiful tackle. Customers everywhere were shooting to their feet and quickly rushing from the restaurant, throwing wadded up bills on the table as they ran.   
  
At least they had the decency to pay.   
  
I turned to ask Sango just what the hell was going on, but _she_ had just stormed over to Kagura's side and socked her roughly in the face. Yes, people, _our_ sweet and innocent Sango punched someone who wasn't named Miroku. This someone, unfortunately, would not go down with a fight, and mimicked Inuyasha's move by tackling my dark haired friend.   
  
Needless to say, my other friends quickly joined this fight, and I privately wondered if what I was watching was a couple of gangs beating the living hell out of each other. If someone took out a knife...   
  
"Hey!" I shouted over the mayhem. "HEY! Listen to me!"   
  
Of course, that didn't stop them. I glanced at Pop again, thanked the lord that she wasn't calling the police, then launched myself at the two nearest brawlers. Somehow, I successfully pried Miroku and Hiten apart, and somehow I successfully _kept_ them apart. I think it was the accusing glare I shot at both of them, because lord knew I wasn't strong enough to hold either of them, let alone _both_.   
  
"Listen, you guys, if you want to fight, TAKE IT OUTSIDE!" I shouted the last part, sounding more than a little 'annoyed'. "If you destroy anything, do you REALLY want to be working here with me for Pop?"   
  
I think my statement sunk in rather well, because all twelve some brawlers sprung away from each other guiltily. All of them gave me a sheepish but defiant look, well, all besides Naraku. He was supporting a rather unattractive puffy eye, and I bet ten bucks that it was going to turn into a black eye by tomorrow.   
  
Standing up to my full height (an amazing 5'4"! Thrill!), I looked down at them in the way my mother looked down at me when I did something wrong when I was younger. The defiant look in each teenager's eyes faded away, and they did the whole 'oh-shit-what-have-I-done' turn around.   
  
Pop sighed, circling around the counter to give each kid a slightly patronizing look. She sighed again, then folded her arms over her stomach and shook her head. "Thankfully, you boys didn't damage anything. However, you DID probably give the grapevine a big boot to the butt with all this chaos you've created." She frowned. "I won't have you pay for any of these damages.. BUT.."   
  
There was that ominous 'but'.   
  
"But... that lot of you will stay here to clean up this mess. I'm old, my back isn't what it used to be, and lord knows I cannot deal with this entire mess by myself.   
  
Here begins the end of this little story. As everyone spread around to pick up pieces of food and over turned chairs (once in a while dodging offended whaps from the people who had braved the fight to finish their delicacy), I approached Miroku. He was the start of the fight, and I deserved an explanation. So I cornered him into one of the booths and glared with all I was worth.   
  
"Explain."   
  
Miroku scowled with equal ferocity back at me. "Hiten deserved it."   
  
"That's nice. Why?" I asked.   
  
"He messed around with Sango's head and body for an entire month, then dumped her for the first woman he saw."   
  
My hands flew to my mouth, and all the little respect I held for Hiten fled in a hurry. "He.. he.. he raped her?!"   
  
Miroku fell off the table he was sitting on. "Christ, Kag! Don't jump to conclusions! Sango would never let it get that far..."   
  
Immediate relief flushed over me, and I kicked him lightly in the ribs. "Thanks for making it sound that way, bud." He groaned and grabbed his ribs. "Clarify."   
  
"Ask her yourself." He sounded offended. I didn't mean to kick him that hard. Sighing, I hauled him to his feet, then looked around for Sango.   
  
What I saw was Inuyasha dump the remnants of a root beer float on Naraku's head.   
  
Is it possible for one story to have two climaxes?   
  
*   
  
"What happened between you and Hiten?"   
  
"That's a long story that I'd rather not get into," Sango said, carefully choosing her words. We were walking away from Pop Taylor's alone and I finally had the chance to talk to her. I waited for her to continue. Nine times out of ten, when a girl says she didn't want to 'get into' anything, they would end up spilling the coffee beans two minutes later. A minute passed. Fifty-five seconds. And five.   
  
Four.   
  
Three.   
  
Sango shifted nervously, eyeing me out of the corner of her eye. I kept waiting, not making use of my vocal chords.   
  
Two.   
  
And one.   
  
Sir, we have connection.   
  
"He... basically just played with my heart, led me to believe he really loved me... you know, the whole wishy-washy problems of the average teenager. I didn't expect Miroku to react so violently, though." She said in a rush. Her cheeks turned pink, and she quickly turned her gaze away from mine. "I thought I loved him too. Then he dumped me, and I got on with my life."   
  
We walked in silence, me offering my silent sympathy, and Sango silently accepting it.   
  
"What about Inuyasha?" I asked after our exchange of sympathy. "Why did he attack Naraku?"   
  
"There's a deep seeded hatred between them that no one really knows about except Miroku. Inuyasha doesn't really trust anyone enough to explain this hatred. Maybe he'll tell you one day."   
  
"I could only wish he trusted me that much." We continued to walk.   
  
"I think part of the reason is also because they're also our rival baseball team, as mundane as that sounds."   
  
Well, that explained the two groups' mutual hatred.   
  
Yura followed me. I didn't know this until later.   
  
We got to the bus stop and I bid Sango goodbye, after warning her to never come visit me again at work. She laughed and told me she'd be there tomorrow, and then she was on the bus and gone.   
  
I started walking again. I wasn't entirely sure where I was walking, or why I was walking, but I just was. Walking did a lot for me. It let me think, and I had a lot to think about right now. Unfortunately, the usually fortunate aspect of my walking meant that I was alone. This, at the moment, wasn't exactly what you would call the safest thing.   
  
Especially when a single strand of hair appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around my wrist.   
  
I let out a small shout of surprise and turned around quickly, my eyes scanning and analyzing the darkened streets. The strand of hair that just attached itself to my wrist ran parallel to the other strand of hair... only this time, it was so much more tighter. I wiggled the tips of my fingers, then yanked on the strand of hair with all my might.   
  
Hair grows. Just thought I'd like to share that.   
  
I picked myself up again after falling rather unceremoniously on my rear, and to my great and utter SHOCK (notice my sarcasm, here), Yura appeared. She grinned at me toothily.   
  
"How.. how.." I started, my eyes huge. I was a little scared, okay? "HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT?! I mean, make the hair grow and stuff.. and how come no one else can see it? I mean, man.."   
  
Okay, so when I'm scared, I babble.   
  
Yura blinked at me a couple times, then frowned. "You can see it? Weird. My daddy's a scientist, and he made this awesome little invention for me." She held up a comb. "Inside of it has about a mile long length of 'hair', all coiled up in this miniaturized spindle. I just press this little button, and hair shoots out from the teeth of the comb. The hair's not real, though. It's made out of a material stronger than that." She paused. "Why you can't see it is because it was dipped in an invisible ink. Nifty, huh?"   
  
"And.. how do you control the hair?" I was a bit dumbfounded. Something didn't exactly ring true to her story, and by the way she quickly spat out the next few words, I knew she was lying about _something_. Hey, I was a big fat liar myself, so I was practically pro when it came to seeing if someone else was lying or not.   
  
"That's none of your damn business!" Hm. I was in a messy situation. Obviously, this girl was a couple cookies short of the dozen, and she had me ensnared in this weird.. 'hair' thing. What would I GIVE for a huge thing of scissors right now..   
  
So we were standing there, a couple feet apart from each other, me examining Yura thoughtfully, and Yura thinking about what she would do with me. I idly wondered if she was going to kill me.   
  
"You know.." Yura said, smiling suddenly. "I know _everything_."   
  
I turned a nice pasty color. Hey, you would too. I mean, give me a BREAK! _Two_ people find out about my... 'crossdressing' in _one_ day! If Miroku told her...   
  
"A-about wh-what?" I stammered out, taking a step back. The hair followed.   
  
"You're a girl."   
  
Oh.   
  
My.   
  
Lord.   
  
"H-h-how.." I blinked, then shook my head rapidly. "You're full of shit."   
  
"No, YOU'RE full of shit. Walking around like a boy when you're so damn obviously a chick."   
  
Someone needs to call 9-1-1. I think I just had a heart attack.   
  
"Y.. you haven't told anyone, have you?"   
  
Yura shook her head, and that cat-like smile reappeared on her lips. "No, no, and I don't think I will. I think I'll keep you as my own little secret. More fun that way."   
  
Oh dang. I now had an insane girl that was in my rival group have bribe material on me. I do believe, Watson, we could call this 'deep-shit material'.   
  
*   
  
I got to my dorm to Inuyasha sitting on my bed. Boy, today was filled with interesting surprises. Being that I was still in shock about Yura, I hardly blinked at Inuyasha. Instead, I closed my door, then turned around and leaned against it, examining the back of his ebony head. He continued to look at the sky through my window, resting on the palms of his hand. I could sense an aura of tiredness around him, and no, I'm not some insane Jackie Chan man and could read aura's or something. I could just.. well, tell he was tired.   
  
"Hey," I greeted. I couldn't exactly keep the small tremble from my voice. "Why are you sitting the.."   
  
CRASH!   
  
Inuyasha ended up flat on his face.   
  
"Oh damn! I'm sorry, man!" Quickly, I rushed to his side and hauled him to his feet. How the hell could I forget that happened to him when I said 'sit'?   
  
What a way to ruin a moment.   
  
"Dumbass!" Inuyasha grumbled, but a bit half heartedly. He brushed the dirt from his nose and glared at me. Then sighed. "I guess I deserved that, though. Hey, Kag."   
  
"Hm?"   
  
"Look, I'm sorry about today at Pop's.." he started, still frowning. "But me and Naraku have a kind of.. history between us."   
  
I waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. Well, that proved that HE wasn't a girl. I had to chuckle at myself at that. Boy, was I a moron sometimes.   
  
I sat beside him on my bed. "It's no prob."   
  
"The other's are sorry, too. They're a bit to broken and stuff to walk all the way to your dorm, though, so Miroku sent me."   
  
I shook my head in faint disbelief. I loved Miroku sometimes.   
  
"Hey.. Kagome..?" His voice sounded so curious and he was looking at me so intently that my heart skipped a beat. Don't tell me.. don't tell me HE knew too..!   
  
"..Y-yeah..?" Miroku wouldn't have told him, would he have?   
  
"...What's..." he paused, then looked over to the bed beside mine. "What's wrong with Hojou?"   
  
Oh.   
  
Ahahahaha.   
  
I looked over at Hojou's bed, then grinned triumphantly. The other boy was curled up on his side, half his face covered with a thin sheen of sweat. The other half of his face was buried in the pillow that I had coughed all over.   
  
Revenge... was SO sweet.   
  
.:end chapter eight:.   
  
Author notes: I'm not sure if I will be including oni's or youkai to this story. I'm not sure if Yura's an oni or youkai.   
  
The last book I read was 'The Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk. I LOVE that book..   
  
This chapter is dedicated to Elly and Zo. 


	9. I'm too sexy

AN: My grandma died. Sorry for the long wait.   
  
*   
  
I was being chased by a pack of rabid, pink wolf-dogs who's breath smelled like whipped cream. I kid you not, it had the sweet, sticky scent of the artificially flavored flavoring, and it turned my stomach. I hate whipped cream, even in my root beer floats or on top of my tall-white-super-calla-fragilicious-expialidocious latté's. No siree-bob, that stuff is not for me.   
  
Anyway, I was running like mad away from these pink dogs, and in my path was a flawless white picket fence. It reminded me of the Brady Bunch... perfect and very 'The American Dream' like. A couple acres away from this picket fence was sophisticated, white, two story house with a couple of cows surrounding it. This didn't strike me as odd, even though generally cows were kept away from the living places of the farmers. Number one, cows smell. They deplete the ozone layer, too. Number two, they're vicious creatures. Not many people know this, but a cow's got a kick strong enough to kill a man, if their farts don't first.   
  
So suddenly one of the whipped cream smelling dogs pounced on my back, sending me sprawling through the fence. I landed rather roughly on my stomach, then rolled over to face my certain demise. I squeezed my eyes shut. Something leaped on my stomach, but this something wasn't... well, it wasn't exactly very heavy. Surprised, I opened both my eyes, and came face to face with a rooster's butt.   
  
Ew.   
  
The rooster waved it's tail back and forth on the underside of my nose in the most annoying way possible. For some reason, it seemed to be intentionally trying to tickle my nose.   
  
*achoo*   
  
The rooster turned to look at me, and then it laughed. For some reason, Mister Rooster bared an uncanny resemblance to Mister Miroku. Miroku-rooster resumed tickling my nose with his tail feathers. Annoyed, I socked Miroku-rooster in the side. He let out an offended squawk, then pecked me in the chest.   
  
I shot into a sitting position, in my bed, wide awake.   
  
Weird dream. Weird weird dream.   
  
The boys were surrounding me with identical Cheshire grins on their faces, Miroku's smile the widest. He was holding a feather and his finger was poised in a poking position. I shot him a look that could freeze fire.   
  
"What the hell are you guys doing?" I asked groggily, running my fingers through my hair. Their smiles widened, and I noticed that each of them were holding several plastic bags that were bulging with.. something. I peered at them curiously. "What's that?"   
  
Miroku opened one bag. My eyes widened.   
  
"Lordy, that's a LOT of toilet paper!"   
  


**School Daze  
** Chapter Nine: I'm too sexy   
by Clara  
  


GOOD MORNING  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

  
  
That's exactly what it said in huge, I kid you not, HUGE letters created by quilted-easier-on-your-butt toilet paper scraps, all over the lawn in front of Sango's dormitory room. On two windows on the fifth floor of the school's building were huge dots made out of whipped cream, and a few floors under that was a huge swoop, creating a gargantuan whipped cream smiley face.   
  
Sango and Kikyo's room made the nose.   
  
Eiji and Miroku did the smiley face. I'm not entirely sure how, and when Eiji tried to explain the mathematics to it, I didn't understand so therefore I'm not going to explain.   
  
Eiji's a boy genius. He's fifteen years old, while the rest of us our seventeen, and he's in our grade.   
  
The tree's all over St. Bernard's School for Special Girl's were strung with long strands of toilet paper which swung in the wind as a clown-like pendulum. Confettied around the school were dozens and dozens and dozens of torn up scraps of toilet paper—a bitch for the people who would have to clean up the mess. Especially after the sprinklers went on.   
  
What we did was the most awesome TPing job in the world.   
  
*   
  
When we all woke up the next morning, St. Bernard's School for Special Boys AND the school for Special Girls were all buzzing with this amazing vandalization. Rumors were flying around about just who did this and whom it was for, but luckily for us no one thought to bring up our names or mentioned that it was Sango's birthday. Whether people were trying to be discreet, or a lot of people REALLY didn't know it was Sango's birthday, I couldn't tell you.   
  
As I made my way to History, though, Inuyasha came charging at me and nearly bowled me over. He swung his arm over my shoulders, then grinned wide enough to make the Cheshire cat jealous.   
  
That made me slightly nervous. Inuyasha was _not_ the hyper type.   
  
"Kagome," Inuyasha declared. I swear he _declared_ my name. "It's Sango's birthday, right?"   
  
"Riiiiight..." I peered at him out of the corner of my eyes. "What're you getting at?"   
  
"Weellll..." He suddenly released me and did a little unnerving dance, complete with hip thrusts, that decidedly reminded me of Miroku. I took a step back. Inuyasha was acting weeeeird. "Pary hearty at Sango's!" he crowed, and the late bell rang. Automatically, he stopped his weird little dance, then acquired this curious 'oh shit' look, and charged towards History.   
  
Leaving stupid me to stupidly stare at his stupid back.   
  
"Party?" I stood there for a few more moments as the hall cleared, when I realized just WHY the hall was clearing.   
  
"Oh HELL!" I darted from my spot and rushed to History. "Stupid Inuyasha!"   
  
When I got to class a good ten minutes after the late bell rang, every student was sitting respectfully in their seats. Professor Myouga stared at me skeptically over his wiry glasses, then heaved a great sigh. "Kagome... you do know that you're a great student in my class.."   
  
"Thank you, Professor, Myouga," I said meekly, bowing my head in respect.   
  
"..and you DO try hard.."   
  
"Yes, Professor Myouga.."   
  
"But coming to my class ten minutes late with no excuse is an automatic detention. I'm sorry, Kagome, but I cannot break the rules."   
  
I could hear Inuyasha snickering. Oh, let me tell you, was _I_ going to kill him. However, since I got the distinct feeling that killing Inuyasha wouldn't do much good for my record, I simply nodded to Professor Myouga and wandered to my seat. Inuyasha flashed me a toothy grin, and as Myouga turned his back to us to write on the bored, I responded by flipping him off.   
  
I wonder—how come it's so easy to hate someone you lo—LIKE so much?   
  
*   
  
Let me skip to Psychology. We've had an interesting time in Psychology these past few weeks... teachers after teachers have been hired then quit or fired usually in the span of a day, so whenever block five rolled around, Inuyasha, Miroku and I had an interesting time trying to figure out what the new teacher would be like. Yes, Miroku was in this class. He decided to drop Economics. Go figure.   
  
"Maybe he's like Myouga. You know, pint sized and hilarious."   
  
"I doubt it. He's probably going to be tall with stringy white hair and a monotonous voice. All Psychology teachers are."   
  
"Hey, maybe it's a _girl_."   
  
Miroku and Inuyasha paused from walking, glanced at each other, then glanced at me as if I had grown a third head.   
  
"Oh, sure, you _really_ think some lady in her right mind is going to work in a school full of _boys_?" Inuyasha, the ever sensible, or in this case, _insensible_ one said.   
  
"What about Lady Kaede?" I asked as we resumed walking. Miroku shrugged.   
  
"Kaede's a completely different story. She's a withered old bat with only one real.. one real.."   
  
Have you ever gotten the feeling where some dangerous person is walking behind you? You know, where the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end and goosebumps rise on your arms?   
  
Yeah, well..   
  
"'Withered old bat'?" Lady Kaede said from behind us. "That's a new one from you, Miroku. Whatever happened to 'old kook' and 'crazy old lady'?"   
  
Miroku turned around and plastered on his best innocent smile, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "Uhm, you've been upgraded?"   
  
"That's it, Miroku! For your impertinence, detention!"   
  
I grinned smugly at Miroku. He had this great disbelieving look on his face. Lady Kaede ambled away from us, muttering something about the youths of society and how we were slowly corrupting the world. Oh, sure, blame the world's problems on a couple of teenagers. Well, Miroku excluded.   
  
The following words uttered from Miroku's mouth I'll exclude, due to the fact that these words should _not_ be repeated for the sanity of some people. Trust me, even Inuyasha winced.   
  
"Hey!" I cut in, interrupting his rather... florid vocabulary. I do believe the only reason why he stopped his rant was because my voice had a rather excited tone to it. I couldn't help it. Visions from "The Breakfast Club" were dancing around like sugarplum faeries in my head. "You have detention with me! Ha!"   
  
"You don't have to sound HAPPY about it!"   
  
My day was already brighter. Getting revenge/vengeance/whatever on Miroku was always fun. I walked with a _much_ lighter step to Psychology. We entered the classroom a good two minutes before the bell rang and slid into our usual seats in the back. Then, of course, started talking.   
  
The bell rang, and the chatter continued. What were we supposed to do? The teacher had yet to make an appearance, and, well, we were hungry. After all, it was the block before lunch.   
  
Good lord, if I wasn't careful, _I_ was going to turn into a boy! Thinking with my stomach and all, that is.   
  
Five minutes after the bell rang, however, a young man walked in. So young, in fact, I thought he was one of the students, and didn't stop my annoyed cursing at Inuyasha. He was flicking around a stupid paper football with Eiji and it had somehow flown off course and landed straight in my eye. Paper cuts on eyeballs were NOT fun.   
  
While I was rubbing my wounded eye, I watched with slight fascination as the young man took his seat in the center of the room at an immaculate desk. He caught my eye and smiled, then went on to look at each student in the eye, analyzing them. I could almost see him gather information on each student, then mentally storing each bit of gathered data in a mind-filing cabinet.   
  
Okay, so maybe I was slightly paranoid. I blame it on all those weird dreams...   
  
I glanced at the clock. Ten minutes had passed since the teacher had walked in, and he had yet to say something. I guess the other's were also starting to feel slightly nervous, because the restless chatter died away to a slightly worried murmur, then finally to nothing. We were all now watching the teacher with rapt attention, perhaps each slightly scared of him in our own way.   
  
As soon as the last voice died away, the young man stood up, rocking on the balls of his feet for a moment. He reached over and grabbed a teddy bear from his desk, and I was wondering how I could have _possibly_ over looked that. There weren't many guys who had teddy bears, and the one's who did were usually far from willing to admit they did, unless it was a gift from a girlfriend or something. However, I didn't see any hearts or 'I love you's' on it, just one eye and a half a nose.   
  
"This is Chad," the teacher suddenly said, startling half the students. He smiled slightly and walked to the front of his desk. He lifted 'Chad' slightly above his head, eyes still on each individual student. "Chad had a bad day today. He lost his girlfriend, his job, totaled his car, missed the Super Bowl, and is neck high in debts. So now Chad's at the top of a building. Chad doesn't want to live anymore. What does Chad do?" The teacher ignored the raised hands, for a good reason. I could just imagine what the boys around me were thinking, especially Miroku. His hand was up there, along with other students in the class. "Chad jumps." With that, he dropped the scruffy bear. Chad landed flat on his noseless face. "Chad dies." The teacher picked the bear up again. "If you were a scientist, Mr. Priest, what would you observe?"   
  
Miroku blinked. It was fairly obvious that my dark haired friend had NO idea the new teacher knew his name. "Uh.. they would examine his... guts?"   
  
Insert laughter here.   
  
"Correct!" the teacher said, beaming. The laughter automatically faded away, and each student looked at the man standing in front of the room with confusion. "A scientist would study the remains... his body, how far up he was, if he died during the fall or after, and if he had been using any illegal substances. Now," the teacher placed the bear above his head again. "Chad's back on top of the building, alive again because of the miracles of medicine. He's depressed again. His wife left with his two kids, his company crashed, therefore leaving him jobless, and is _still_ neck high in debts, even more now since he had been in the hospital from the last time he jumped from the fifteenth story of a building. So Chad jumps again, and once again," he dropped the bear, "dies. Now, you." He pointed a short kid sitting in front of me. "This time, if a psychologist were to look at Chad, what would they look at?"   
  
"His... uh... brains?"   
  
The teacher smiled. "Partially correct, but to be more specific, they would look at his _mind_. What were the reasons why he died, what could he have possibly been thinking, and how he was feeling before he died." The smile widened. "Perhaps they would even study why he chose to do it _twice._" The teacher bent down and picked up the bear again, then placed him back on the desk. He walked over to the overhead projector and turned it on. "Psychology is a systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes. We use Psychology to study human behavior, i.e., the way we think, our unconscious mind, and how we feel. Contrary to popular belief, Psychology IS a science.."   
  
It went on much like this, the teacher explaining different points of psychology while using various types of demonstrations. He had a way of talking to us that made us, or at least _me_ feel almost equal to him. As if he wasn't older, but my age. Perhaps it was because he looked so young, too...   
  
When we left the class, Miroku brought up a wonderful point.   
  
"Hey, the teacher didn't say what his name was..." he stated as we walked to lunch. I blinked over at him.   
  
"Man, I didn't even notice..." Inuyasha mumbled, and I nodded in my agreement. We all had this slightly transfixed looks on our faces, as if we had been hypnotic.. hypnotized...   
  
"AIIIIEEEEEE!!!!"   
  
Miroku and Inuyasha glanced at each other as I went zooming down the hall as if hell were at my heels.   
  
"What's with Kagome?"   
  
"Beats me."   
  
*   
  
Party time. School's boring, so let's get on with the interesting stuff. VERY interesting stuff. As mentioned previously, I've never swallowed a drop of alcohol in my life, so you can just imagine what it was like for me when I decided, well, hey, there's a bottle of vodka in front of me!   
  
I'm getting ahead of myself.   
  
Anyway, straight after school on Friday we headed to Sango's house. Her parents were out for the night on a business trip (they complained and whined and cried about it because they didn't want to leave Sango on her birthday), and Sango had somehow managed to convince her younger brother, Kohaku, to spend the night at my house. Confused? Well, you have every right to be. To briefly explain, Kohaku had been dropped off by their parents at Sango's school because they had to leave right away and there was no way they would leave their precious eleven year old son by himself at their house. This was during lunch because Kohaku had no school that day. Unfortunately, Kohaku had gotten too bored to wait for Sango (and, consequently, didn't go to the office like he was told to), and caught sight of my brother playing hackey-sack with Shippou across the street. So, Sango's younger brother decided to run across the street to OUR school and ask if he could play.   
  
Completely forgetting to tell Sango.   
  
Luckily, everything worked out in the end. Miroku recognized Kohaku and hauled both him and my brother to ME for some odd reason and left them in my care. Souta had to go to his sixth block class, so I ended up dragging around Kohaku to each of my classes.   
  
So, anyway, Sango met us in front of the school with Kikyo and another girl I didn't know. By that time Kohaku had already convinced himself that he was spending the night at my house, whether Sango liked it or not.   
  
In which she informed him that she liked that _plenty_.   
  
So that brings us to the party. Somehow, there was alcohol. I don't know where if came from, and I don't know HOW it got there, but since it was just my small group and a couple of other people whom they seemed close to, I was assured that this alcohol was safe. Besides, everything I drank, either Inuyasha or Miroku or Sango drank first.   
  
Alcohol can be very fun. I'm not recommending it, let me tell you, but some of the things it makes intoxicated people do.. well..   
  
Could you imagine Miroku and Inuyasha dancing on a table?   
  
To clarify that rather sketchy statement (in fear that some people might actually think they were dancing TOGETHER...), Inuyasha and Miroku decided to put on a... show for Sango. Somehow, they had managed to get a copy of the 'Right Said Fred' CD.   
  
_I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love  
Love's going to leave me.._   
  
Miroku let out a rather animalistic howl when that line came on, and he and Inuyasha hopped onto the table, dancing seductively to the music. I stared at them with huge eyes for a moment, then glanced at the bottle of beer in my hand (yes, I was mixing beer with vodka. Never, EVER do that). I wondered what percentage of alcohol I would need in my blood before I started to see things. Somehow, though, I didn't think a half a bottle of beer would do it.   
  
After pondering about how much alcohol I had consumed, I began to wonder how much alcohol Inuyasha and Miroku had consumed. They were no lip-synching to the song and... well.. gradually stripping down to their bare essentials.   
  
This was killing half the girls at the party, who were either trying to grope at the two boys, or in my and Sango's case, laughing their heads off. Especially when Miroku 'shook his little tush on the catwalk'.   
  
_I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt  
So sexy it hurts _   
  
Inuyasha tore off his shirt, and the crowd howled their appreciation, me included. I did it 'jokingly', though, but in reality I was checking out that great.. ahem.. BUTT. Hey, I was intoxicated, okay? To my surprise, at my left, Kikyo was cat-calling along with me.   
  
I glanced at the bottle in her hands, then grinned. Guess even the ice queen goes a little crazy after a couple of drinks. Speaking of drinks... I grabbed another drink from the table beside me. It was open, but I didn't really care.   
  
I'm stupider than Hojo.   
  
_And I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan  
New York and Japan  
And I'm too sexy for your party, too sexy for your party  
No way I'm disco dancing_   
  
Miroku, who's shirt had just been ripped off by SANGO, of all people, did a little disco move. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was alternating between dancing seductively and glancing at me in surprise.   
  
"Kekki?!" he shouted over the music.   
  
I nearly dropped my bottle, and Miroku and Sango froze. Then I looked down.   
  
Insert as many curse words as you can right about here.   
  
"Yeah!" Miroku suddenly shouted, drawing Inuyasha's attention to him. "Kagome.. ah.. had to run home for.. ah.." Unfortunately alcohol muddles up your brain. As my face began to deteriorate in a slow burn, Miroku struggled for an excuse.   
  
"Because my mom wanted him to come home, cuz he got into some trouble," I filled in for Miroku hastily. My face was still bright red, and I brought the bottle that I had snatched to the table to my lips, trying to hide behind it. Of course, OF COURSE I would the major idiot and unbutton the first few buttons of my shirt because I was hot or something..   
  
"..Oh," was Inuyasha's hesitant reply. Both Kikyo and him were staring at me with perplexed faces, but thankfully they were a bit too drunk to really think about it. I took a loooong swig from the drink, then choked and nearly spit it out. It tasted nasty, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was mixing rubbing alcohol with some strawberry flavor. At least, that's what it tasted like.   
  
Later on I would realize that I was drinking straight up vodka. From the bottle people usually used to pour shots with.   
  
_I'm a model, you know what I mean   
And I do my little turn on the catwalk   
Yeah, on the catwalk, on the catwalk, yeah  
I do my little turn on the catwalk_   
  
Inuyasha yanked me up onto the table, nearly knocking me over. Actually, he DID knock me over, but he caught me before I could go flying. I could feel my face turn maroon, and at the same time I could feel the angry daggers being glared into my back from a certain irate Kikyo. Goosebumps rose on my arms, but I couldn't tell whether they were from Kikyo's killer gaze or the fact that I was pressed up against Inuyasha, who was naked from the waist up. Somehow, I had the feeling it was from the latter.   
  
"Inuyasha.. what.."   
  
"Shh." He placed a finger over my lips, then looked at me square in the eye. "I'm totally and completely wasted. I mean, I probably won't remember h.." he stumbled over the next word, "..half the things I've done tonight, and everything I'll remember I'll most likely regret. So, at least let me do one thing I wuh-won't regret.." He carefully pried the bottle of alcohol out of my hands and handed it to Miroku, who was watching with VERY interested eyes. Actually, everyone in the room was.   
  
My heart did a couple backflips, and Inuyasha kissed me.   
  
For a moment, I was too stunned to reply. Then, in the sudden onslaught of cheering and laughter that faded into the background, I hesitantly returned the kiss. It was a kind of clumsy kiss, and I know both of our breaths reeked, but the point is.. the point is..   
  
This was my first kiss.   
  
Stupid, stupid Inuyasha.   
  
.:end chapter nine:.   
  
A couple of things you might want to know about the next chapter. There IS going to be Inuyasha and Kagome romance, drama with Souta and the bullies, Yura's pyschoticness, a dance, and.. some new twists.   
  
*ducks insane people for ending with a cliffhanger, and for this chapter being slightly shorter than the rest, AND for it being forever since she updated* I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I really didn't intend for this to be a cliffhanger, but it ended well right there..   
  
I really should fix all the errors in the past chapters of School Daze. I made so many. o___o; 


	10. Like a big pizza pie!

A/N: To make everyone happy...   
  
1—Don't drink. It's not healthy. o___O;   
  
2—Kagome had unbuttoned the first couple buttons of her shirt, therefore revealing enough cleavage to.. distinguish her as a girl. Inuyasha noticed this, and automatically thought she was 'Kekki'. Check the last chapter to see WHY Inuyasha is convinced she's Kekki. (Hint: Miroku and Kagome give the excuse). In other words, Inuyasha still thinks that Kekki and Kagome are two different people.   
  
3—From this point on, this story is dedicated to my dear friend Elly. :D She's so awesome, she's sending me most the anime episodes of Inuyasha! *dancedancedance*   
  
Now that that's done with.. let's get this show on the road!   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Ten: Like a big pizza pie!  
by Clara

  
  
When Inuyasha finally pulled away from me, it wasn't because he wanted to. At least, I hope he didn't want to, because Lord knows _I_ didn't. Actually, 'pulled away' isn't exactly the most accurate description for what happened. He was yanked away from me rather abruptly, leaving me over balanced and falling rather gracelessly from the table. Luckily, Sango was able to catch me before I hit my head on any pointy objects and killed myself. I don't think she was prepared for me, though, because after she caught me, we both went sprawling to the ground.   
  
"You okay?" Sango asked, a little breathlessly. I think I jammed her in the stomach with my elbow.   
  
"Ye-yeah, just a little dizzy," I answered, trying to fixate my gaze on a single object. This is where 'fun-drunk' became 'terrifying-drunk'.   
  
"That's good. NOW GEDDOFFAME!"   
  
Abruptly, I scrambled off of Sango, supporting a slightly nervous look. Sango offered me a crooked grin in order to reassure me that everything was okay, then turned her eyes to Inuyasha.   
  
Inuyasha. I almost forgot. I looked around the room for a moment, then a scream caught in the middle of my throat when I saw just where he was.   
  
"Kouga! What do you think you're doing?" I couldn't move fast enough towards them. It was like we were back at the shoppé, but instead of Inuyasha and Naraku brawling, it was Inuyasha and _Kouga_. And like at the shoppé, they didn't listen to me.   
  
Oh, crap. I was tearing apart this group one by one..   
  
I spun around to look for help, but the only thing I saw was Kikyo's cold eyes staring at me accusingly.   
  
"This is all your fault," she bit out accusingly. Her voice was weighed down with tears, and for a brief moment I saw who the real Kikyo was. She was just as prone to heartbreak as I was. "It's all your fault," she said again, snapping her watery gaze to Inuyasha and Kouga, "that they're fighting like this. That you're breaking us apart!"   
  
This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to get Inuyasha, yes, but getting him wasn't supposed to break the group apart!   
  
I turned my head quickly again to the group, but my brain didn't follow as quickly as my head. A wave of nausea swept over me, and I reached up to clutch my temples. I wanted to cry, to scream, to sob, but all I could do is drop to my knees in sudden fatigue. The voices that were once deafening me faded into the background and was replaced by my beating heart and my laboring breath. My gaze turned fuzzy.   
  
"Inuyasha.." I breathed out in terror, then collapsed into unconsciousness.   
  
*   
  
When I woke up it was to someone gently brushing my hair from my forehead and whispering soothing words to me. The first person I thought of was, of course, Inuyasha, but when my eyes opened I was greeted by the sight of a rather worried Miroku. I frowned at him and tried to open my mouth.   
  
That was a bad idea. As soon as I moved, a tidal wave of nausea knocked into me. I let out a small whimper, feeling the corrosive taste of bile rise to my throat. Miroku creased his eyebrows.   
  
"Need to puke?"   
  
I shook my head no. Actually, that wasn't right. I felt like I needed to puke, but I knew I wouldn't be able to even if I tried. All I wanted to do was sleep, but even that was impossible at the moment. I needed to know that everyone was okay, especially, well...   
  
"How's Inuyasha?"   
  
Miroku frowned slightly, but I couldn't tell if it was at me or at this entire situation. "Sango's taking care of him. He's got a nasty bruise over his eye, and, well..." He stopped, and I could tell that he was trying to hide something from me.   
  
"Spit it out, Priest," I said, trying to keep my voice as lighthearted as I could. In reality, my heart felt like it was going to explode.   
  
"He keeps asking for you," Miroku said quietly. He was giving me this haunted look. "You scared him pretty bad, there..."   
  
I bit my lip, looking at the tired Miroku and suddenly getting the urge to cry. "Kikyo was right. This is all my fault. This wouldn't be happening if it weren't for me."   
  
Miroku, being the great mother he was, pulled the blanket that was resting on my stomach up to my chin. "Kikyo's jealous. Now get some sleep—everyone's freaking out about you. We'll get it straightened out."   
  
I sniffled pathetically. I suddenly remembered that it was Sango's birthday, and we were ruining it.   
  
And it was all my fault.   
  
*   
  
When I woke up again, Miroku was gone and Inuyasha was kneeling in his place. A thin stream of sunlight had broken through the cotton curtains and was playing across my stomach on the blanket. I concentrated on the light, too afraid to look at Inuyasha.   
  
"Hi," I said quietly, afraid to break the silence that had settled comfortably over us.   
  
"..Hi," he said back. His voice sounded weary. I turned my head to look at him. "Look, Kekki, I'm.. sorry about everything, and about the kiss, and.." he paused, then shook his head slightly. "Well, no, I'm not sorry about the kiss, since I.. ah.. liked it, but I AM sorry about kissing you without asking and I completely understand if you hate me now and you never want to see me again, but my only pathetic excuse is that I was drunk and I didn't know what I was thinking and.."   
  
He paused for breath, and I jumped in. "Did you kiss me just because you were drunk?"   
  
"NO! No.." he shook his head quickly. "I mean, I.. well, I _like_ you and everything.." He tugged on his thumb nervously. "But.."   
  
"But you're confused," I answered for him. He looked at me in slight wonder.   
  
"Yeah. How'd you know?"   
  
"You're like an open book." I smiled a bit bitterly. "It'd be better for me to stay away for a while, anyway. I don't think Kikyo likes me very much, and I don't want to cause anymore trouble between you and Kouga anymore.."   
  
"Oh." Inuyasha looked away for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would be better."   
  
We both fell into a tense sort of silence. I felt my heart break—and I have no idea how to explain how that felt. The closest word to describe how I felt right then was empty. Hollow.   
  
"But..." Inuyasha paused, then looked seriously at me. "When everything calms down again, we can.. ah.. try again, right? You know, without us both being drunk.."   
  
I forced a weak smile on my face, then nodded. It was fine for Inuyasha, he wouldn't have to see _Kekki_ again until he was ready to.   
  
I, on the other hand, was going to have to suffer through seeing him every single day.   
  
Life sucked.   
  
*   
  
I had Sango come over the next night in recompense. We had a lot to talk about, anyway.   
  
"I'm sorry again, Sango..."   
  
Sango gave me a crooked smile. "Look, girl, this is the sixth time you've apologized since I've been here, and it's only been an hour. It's okay, all right?" She gave me a level look. "Just as long as you don't forget my birthday gift!"   
  
"After I get my paycheck." I laughed. "What did Miroku get you, anyway?"   
  
Sango snorted and fingered her necklace. "This gorgeous necklace and a pinch on my butt. I punched him for the last one, mind you."   
  
It was already nearing two a.m., and we were both still wide awake talking about, what else, the boys. Sango couldn't stop talking about Miroku for some reason, but most of what she was saying about Miroku wasn't necessarily good. Believe me, though, she had a _lot_ to say about Priest..   
  
"Hey, Sango," I started, lying stomach first on my bed. "How do you know Miroku?"   
  
Sango shifted a little, then blushed. "Miroku? Didn't I tell you once that we've known each other for forever?"   
  
"Well, yes, but besides that. How did the two of you meet?"   
  
Sango once told me awhile back that Miroku and she 'had been practically born in the same hospital room'. It turns out, there was more to that story than that. They had met each other when they were three years old in front of an old creek. Sango was had been about to stomp on this huge ugly beetle that terrified her when Miroku, surprisingly, stopped her.   
  
Of course, she had been surprised that he stopped her, and let her surprise be loudly known by wailing at him. He calmly sat through the wailing, then when she stopped crying he said something to her that she would never forget.   
  
"Why didn't you let me step on that icky bug?" Sango had yelled at him. Miroku looked at her calmly.   
  
"How would you feel if something a billion times bigger than you stepped on YOU?" Miroku countered.   
  
"No one would want to step on me!"   
  
"I would!" he had shouted back. "Girl's are GROSS!"   
  
.....   
  
"He said that?" I asked, my eyes wide. "HE said that? OUR Miroku?"   
  
Sango nodded, a slight smile playing across her lips. "He wasn't _always_ lecherous. He didn't turn into a pervert until we were about fourteen. Surprising, huh?"   
  
I nodded, a little too dumbfounded to say anything else. I couldn't picture Miroku, even three year old Miroku, not liking girls. I shook my head. "But how did that make you two best friends?"   
  
"I don't know, actually. We just kept meeting each other in front of that creek randomly." She smiled fondly. "We hated each other."   
  
I laughed. I couldn't help it. Hearing someone say they hated each other with _that_ expression on their face was just hilarious. "Oh? It seems your opinion of him has changed _drastically_."   
  
Sango snorted, but didn't say anything. She was lying on a futon that was usually kept under my bed for guests and looked as if she was about to fall asleep. I didn't blame her, though, since it was about two a.m. In fact, I was about to fall asleep too when I suddenly heard this faint.. well, 'twanging' sound.   
  
_YURA?!_   
  
Sango was already to her feet and standing at the window. She had her blanket drooped around her shoulders and was making these short, gasping sounds. Her shoulders were shaking. That frightened me a little, and for one inane moment I wondered if she had epilepsy or something. Then I realized she was laughing so hard that it was coming out silently.   
  
I rolled out of my bed. I've never.. _never_ heard Sango laugh this hard.   
  
Before I even made if half way to my window, the.. person, or rather, _persons_, who were under my window (yes, I was on the second floor), belted out the first verse of a very familiar song.   
  
_"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie,  
That's amoré!"_   
  
I rushed to the window, a slightly disbelieving look on my face. I recognized those voices..   
  
Sango had thrown my window open and was leaning precariously out of it, still laughing hysterically. I followed her example. There stood Inuyasha and Miroku, both looking utterly ridiculous in their pajamas and holding ukuleles. I joined Sango in dying with laughter.   
  
_"When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine,  
That's amoré!"_   
  
I (platonically) loved Inuyasha and Miroku. They were great guys, seriously. But let me tell you something... they could _not_ sing. Or play the ukulele, for that matter. Which is what made this situation even more hilarious. Lights all over my neighborhood were flashing on and dozens of faces were peeking out their windows, trying to figure out what on earth that racket was. I could have sworn I heard someone shout, "SOMEONE PUT THOSE DAMN CATS OUT OF THEIR MISERY!"   
  
Inuyasha and Miroku ignored them.   
  
_"Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling,  
And you'll sing 'Vita bella'.  
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay,  
Like a gay tarantella."_   
  
"What the hell's a tarantella?" I heard Miroku ask Inuyasha.   
  
"Beats me. Shut up and keep singing," was Inuyasha's response.   
  
"They're gay, though?"   
  
"Happy, Miroku. Now sing!"   
  
_"When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool,  
That's amoré!  
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet,  
You're in loo~oove!"_   
  
Both Inuyasha and Miroku did this quirky little dance on the lawn and Sango collapsed to her knees, hugging her sides. I heard someone running down my stairs.   
  
Tears streamed from my eyes at a steady pace. I couldn't stop laughing, but at the same time my heart was swelling to a point where it felt as if it were about to burst. No one had ever done anything that sweet for me in my life.   
  
_"When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not,  
Dreaming signore,  
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli,  
That's amoré!"_   
  
My grandfather came charging from the house, waving a huge bat and wearing his old blue robe. That just made Sango and me laugh harder, half from the expression on the boys' faces, half from the fact that despite my crazy grandpa chasing them away, they were _still_ singing.   
  
_"When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie,  
That's amoré!  
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine,  
That's amoré!"_   
  
Inuyasha made a loud "woah" sound, dodging my grandfather and a vase thrown from the house next door. He bowed at my grandfather, blew a raspberry, then grabbed Miroku by the collar and charged back to his car, Grandpa at their heals.   
  
_"Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling,  
And you'll sing 'Vita bella'.."_   
  
The boys trailed off, quickly hopping into Inuyasha's car and quickly driving off. They thought ahead and left the car running, just in case a.. situation like this happened. Grandpa, as wacky as he was, half-heartedly chased the car. Even from my position at the window, even though my eyes were blurred from mirth-tears, I could see the look of amusement on Grandpa's face.   
  
Miroku poked his head out the window as they drove past.   
  
_"Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay,  
Like a gay tarantella!!"_   
  
He shouted that verse from the car, half hanging out from the window. He was grinning widely, eyes dancing with mirth, and then they were gone.   
  
For a long, long moment, Sango and I plastered ourselves against my wall and laughed our heads off. I heard Grandpa reenter the house and walk back up the stairs. He paused at my door, then just sighed and continued walking. I was sure he was going to give me an earful after Sango went home.   
  
When we finally controlled ourselves, we both crawled back to our beds. Sango tilted her head to the side, examining me curiously.   
  
"I thought you said you and Inuyasha agreed to stay away from each other for awhile?" she asked, pulling her blanket from her shoulders and her around her body. I shrugged, sitting on my bed. I couldn't stop myself from grinning.   
  
"I guess he changed his mind."   
  
Sango returned my grin with one equally large. "You don't sound very upset.."   
  
"Would you be after something like _that_?"   
  
Sango settled more comfortably, still grinning. Then, suddenly, her grin flattened a little. "Hey, Kagome?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"They.. ah.. pretty much said 'I love you'..."   
  
My heart did a back flip, then a front flip, then stopped altogether. Inuyasha.. loved me? I shook my head. As, well, pleasant as that thought was, that seemed a little too much since we had only met a couple times. Thankfully, though, Sango read my mind.   
  
"Well, I mean, it's doubtful that Inuyasha loves you.. yet.. but.." She suddenly turned bright red and ducked her head under the blanket. "But that doesn't explain Miroku.." she mumbled.   
  
"Awww!" I squealed. "He _loves_ you!"   
  
Sango didn't answer, but I had the feeling that her face was maroon. "I doubt that."   
  
"Well, how do you feel about that?"   
  
Sango pulled the blanket off her face, her blush fading only a little. I was right, she was almost maroon. "Well, I don't really know.."   
  
I snorted at her, correctly interpreting her next words. "I'll ask him for you, okay?"   
  
*   
  
When school started again, I still had a silly grin plastered on my face. Every time I saw either Miroku or Inuyasha I had to duck away because I knew I would either be laughing my head off or blushing furiously, but I couldn't hide from them for forever. Fortunately, though, they didn't gang up on me. Miroku found me first. I was sitting in my room, quickly trying to finish my homework that I had forgotten about when he bust in. He sat smugly on Hojou's bed, then tossed me this aloof, but radiant grin.   
  
"Soooo.. what did you think?"   
  
I pretended to think for a moment, tapping my finger against my chin. "I think..." I drew those words on for awhile, still pretending to think. "I think that next time you see Sango, she might try and jump your bones or something."   
  
Miroku stared at me for a moment, then grinned like a little boy. "YES!" He fell flat back against the bed, arms spread above his head. He was laughing almost giddily.   
  
"I also think Grandpa's gunna try and kill you if he ever sees you again.." I muttered, thinking about how Grandpa lectured me for nearly an hour about how I shouldn't have crazy boys coming to the house that late. Miroku ignored me, still laughing. He sounded so... happy.   
  
After Miroku stopped laughing, he pulled himself up into a sitting position and rest his elbows on his knees. He looked at me for a long moment, then grinned. I was pretending to do my homework, but kept looking at him discreetly.   
  
"Go ahead and ask me whatever's on your mind."   
  
I twirled my pencil idly around on my fingers, then grinned slightly at him. "So, you're in love with Sango?"   
  
Miroku blanched, then cleared his throat. "I don't think I would call it that.. _yet_. More like how Inuyasha feels for you. A lot of like."   
  
A lot of like. My grin widened, and it was my turn to let out a whoop of laughter. He grinned back.   
  
I took in a deep breath and released it happily after a few moments. He was staring at me expectantly, and I tilted my head to the side. "I have a feeling you have more to say." Miroku nodded.   
  
"One.." He held up a finger. "Baseball season's starting soon. VERY soon."   
  
BASEBALL! I forgot about that!   
  
"Two.." He held up another finger. "Expect Inuyasha to be calling 'Kekki' soon. Actually, tonight. So, ah, you kind of need to be home. Don't worry, I'll think up a way to cover for you."   
  
I stared at him, puzzled. "Why's he gunna call me?"   
  
"School dance tomorrow." He grinned at my startled expression.   
  
I felt like I was walking in the clouds. My week just went from good, to bad, to good, to _great_. Suddenly, though, my mood plummeted. "Uh, how is everything going between Kouga and Inuyasha? And Kikyo and Inuyasha, for that matter.."   
  
Miroku's grin didn't drop. "Didn't I tell you we'd straighten that out? Inuyasha and Kouga are.. okay again, I guess. They're kind of acting weird around each other, but that's to be expected. Anyway, Kikyo's the same as ever, but expect the cold shoulder from her."   
  
I frowned slightly. "How's that different from now, anyway?"   
  
He shrugged. "I guess you're right. 'Suppose she's always felt threatened by you." Suddenly, he was all grins again. "Hey, Kagome?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"We _rock_."   
  
THIS, my friends, is what made Miroku one of my best friends.   
  
*   
  
At the end of school, I was heading towards my car (in order to rush home), when I heard a muffled groan. I paled, and my blood froze.   
  
"..S-Souta?" Oh please no..   
  
I rushed to my car, falling the quiet whimpers I knew was coming from my little brother. I looked around wildly. "Souta? Souta! Where are you!"   
  
A hand grabbed my ankle and I let out a blood curdling shriek. Automatically, the hand jerked back from under my car, and I fell to my knees. My hand clutched my chest, and I leaned forward slightly to see just _who_ was under my car. I could just hear horror-movie fans screaming at me, but I had the distinct feeling that there was no monster hiding under my car. "S-Souta?"   
  
My brother looked up at me with terrified eyes, blood dripping from his split lip. He was a mess, green bruises scattered across his face and one eye puffy and red. I felt a wave of nausea hit me, and I scrambled the short distance between me and my car. "Souta! Oh, God!"   
  
His arm was folded underneath him in a sickening way, and he looked almost terrified of me. I don't think he saw me, even though he was staring straight at my face. I had the melancholy feeling he saw someone else. "It's me, Souta, it's Kagome! You know, your big sis? 'Gome?"   
  
Souta continued to look at me blankly, and my heart stopped. I clawed at the gravel, as if trying to dig myself under the car. Tears fell from my eyes and onto the cement as my world stopped turning. "Ta-Ta.." I sobbed out. Recognition flashed in my brother's eyes, and my hopes soared. Very carefully, my brother dragged himself out from under the car. I pulled him into my arms when he came close enough and held him, sobbing into his hair.   
  
I was going to get my brother out of this school if it was the last thing I did.   
  
.:end chapter ten:.   
  
Okie dokie, I know I said there would be a dance and Yura stuff in it, but I kind of felt like I would be cramming this chapter too full of stuff. So therefore, that won't happen until chapter eleven. ^___^; School dance in the next chapter (I promise!), Yura-ness, and that mysterious teacher revealed. 


	11. Dance with me, just a little bit longer

It's hard for me to make connections in my stories because I hate to reread them. After writing it, then rereading it several times to search for the mistakes, you get rather tired of the story.. Which is why, starting chapter twelve, I'll have a proofreader @@;   
  
Thanks to Elly, I also have fanart for SD! ^___^ See it at: http://www.geocities.com/_clara_19_/MirokuandInuyashaSing10.jpg   
  
Yes, in the SD universe, it IS still fall. Mainly because I've been writing this story in an almost day-to-day perspective and it takes me a week or two to put out each chapter, so that messes up the timeline thing. I'd say it's about mid-October. Fun! I get to stick them in Halloween costumes and send them trick-or-treating..   
  
Anyway, on with the show!   
  
*   
  
I stared at the door of the hospital room my brother was in, my hands jammed in the pockets of my uniform pants. I had been standing there for a good quarter hour, just looking indecisively at that door as if I expected something phenomenal to happen. Of course, nothing did. I was still observing the door when a gentle, placating hand touched my shoulder.   
  
I jumped a good foot into the air. So I was skittish. Sue me.   
  
"Mr. Higurashi?" a pleasant voice asked. I turned around and blinked at her, momentarily forgetting that I was garbed in my black uniform and therefore still appearing to be a boy. The girl who had her hand on my shoulder looked around my age, and she had a sticker on her shirt that said simply: "Wazuka". That name sounded fun, and if I weren't as worried as I was at the moment, I would have had the time of my life trying to say it.   
  
She blushed prettily and tapped her pen against her clipboard. "Would you like to see your brother, or are you happy just staring at the door?" Her voice held a light, teasing note to it, and I had the uncomfortable and very terrifying feeling that she was checking me out. Pushing away those scary thoughts, I nodded once. She opened the door.   
  
As I followed the rather odd girl into Souta's room, a rather frightening thought kept making itself known in my brain.   
  
I wanted revenge.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Eleven: Dance with me, just a little bit longer..  
by Clara  


  
  
I looked down at my brother, biting my lip. He was sleeping quietly with an IV connected to his left hand and oxygen tubes snaking parasitically up his nose. He looked so peaceful, and for a moment, I had a brief, morbid thought that he looked almost like a corpse. I shoved my fist to my mouth and bit my knuckles, hard. Concentrating on the pain in my hand helped get my mind off my brother.   
  
My mother was sitting at the side of my brother's bed, soggy tissues clutched in her hands. She looked up at me, and her crumpled face looked utterly defeated.   
  
"Kagome," she whispered in a broken voice. I walked over to her side. "Kagome, what happened?"   
  
I stared down at my mom for a long time, wishing I could answer her question. Instead, I knelt by her side. For some reason, for some rather valid reason, I felt like a complete failure. I took my brother's hand in mine, dropped my head onto the bedspread, and cried.   
  
*   
  
We took my (fully conscious) brother home that night. His injuries weren't as bad as I had originally thought—all he had were a couple of severe contusions and a dislocated arm. Besides that, the doctors just strongly suggested a week's worth of rest and plenty of fluids.   
  
One of the doctors had pulled my mother aside while we were getting Souta ready to take home. For what, I'm not entirely sure, but from the expression on my mother's face when she returned, I knew it wasn't something pleasant and most likely accusing. Although I knew the questions they asked were mandatory, it broke my heart to think anyone could blame these heartless attacks on my mother.   
  
To get back to the original topic on hand, my mother and I continued to baby my brother for most of the night, rushing to his every whim until he go so fed up with us that he threatened to lock himself in his room for a little privacy. After that, we decided he was healthy enough to stay on his own in his room for the night. That is, after he reassured us that he doubted anyone would climb to his second story bedroom to beat the boogers out of him. Yes, those were his exact words.   
  
At around nine that night I was sitting in my kitchen with a cup of coffee. Coffee is a very comforting presence, even though that meant I wouldn't be sleeping for the rest of the night, but I highly doubted I would anyway. As I was wallowing in my highly depressing thoughts, a sharp, shrill ring broke through the air and scared the living hell out of me. Of course, being who I was, I fell out of my chair. My Smurfs mug went flying up, then the laws of gravity kicked in and the mug with the words "I am a rocky mountain smurf" on it splattered back down on my pristine uniform shirt. I'm not graceful, okay?!   
  
I lay there for a couple of minutes, listening to the sharp ringing and wondering what the hell it was, while at the same time wondering why I freak out about the scalding liquid slowly eating away my skin. After a few moments of asking the ceiling for the answers of my universe, the connections clicked and I realized that my phone was ringing. Frowning, I lifted myself from the floor and walked over to the phone, pulling it off the receiver.   
  
"Hello?" I asked. Or greeted. How does one categorize that, anyway? Better yet, why do people make a greeting a question? It's like, people are so paranoid that when they hear the phone ring and they pick it up, they have to _ask_ to make sure the person who obviously wanted to contact them was there. Or maybe I was looking to far into it. I was in a weird mood.   
  
"Kekki?" A smooth, male voice asked.   
  
I almost asked who the hell 'Kekki' was when my heart stopped. That's right... "Yes?" I asked, trying to sound more casual and calm than I felt.   
  
"Hi, it's Inuyasha," he sounded a great deal more nervous than he had a few minutes ago, and I could almost hear the blush in his voice. On cue, I started blushing too.   
  
Oh hell, I was like a little school girl.   
  
"H-hi, Inuyasha," I managed, mentally kicking myself for stuttering. Big girls don't stutter. Well, that's not true. Girls pretending to be boys don't stutter, but I would rather not get into that analogy..   
  
"Um, I was kinda wondering if you would.. ah.. like to go with me to my school's dance.. Kagome might have mentioned it to you or something.." He still sounded so cutely embarrassed. I grinned.   
  
"Yeah, actually, 'Gome has told me." I twirled the chord around my finger, pacing in a circle. "And yeah, I'll go with you."   
  
"Great!" Inuyasha cheered. He sounded so.. childishly excited that I couldn't stop a small chuckle. "I mean.. ah.. that's cool. Awesome. Anyway, um, is your brother going to? He hasn't told me yet, and I haven't gotten around to asking him.."   
  
"Yeah, he should be going." Okay, so I wasn't thinking. I'm an idiot. Let's just say, I screwed myself over at that point.   
  
"That's cool. Tell him I said hi, okay? Anyway, I'll talk to you later."   
  
"Bye," I said, still blushing immensely, then hung up. I paused, then looked down. Somehow, I had managed to tie myself up with the phone chord. As I was untangling myself, though, I made a couple more connections, then screamed.   
  
"I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!!"   
  
*   
  
"I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!!"   
  
Sango blinked at me, chewing on her straw. It was the next day after school and me, Miroku, and her were all walking to our cars from the shoppé. I was still wearing my apron and whatnot, and still freaking about my stupid situation. I think I was the only person I knew who could make the biggest ass out of herself without even knowing it.   
  
"Well, yeah, you are.." Sango agreed, drinking from her soda. I shot her a dark glare.   
  
"That's not very comforting, Sango," I grumbled, shoving my hands in my pockets. The dance was in an hour and a half, and I was still stuck with the dilemma of being both 'Kagome' AND 'Kekki' for one night.   
  
"Well, it wasn't meant to be. How on earth do you get yourself into these situations?"   
  
"I.. I wasn't thinking, okay?" I managed feebly as I trudged after Miroku. He was walking a few feet in front of me, deftly maneuvering himself out of our conversation. He _was_ my best friend, but I doubted he knew how to handle situations like these.   
  
"Well, that's plainly obvious," Sango retorted. I scowled at her.   
  
"You're _really_ not helping."   
  
She let out a small chuckle, then draped her arm over my shoulders. "Look, everything will be all right, okay? Miroku and I will help out."   
  
"Yeah," Miroku said, finally introducing himself into this conversation. "We can bring two sets of clothes, one for 'Kagome' and one for 'Kekki', and every time something comes up we'll drag you off and change you."   
  
"Where, though?!" I asked, unable to hide the desperate tone in my voice. "Maybe I could just tell him that 'Kagome' got sick from hay fever or something..."   
  
"Kag, it's fall, and we don't exactly live in California..." Sango admonished, rolling her eyes.   
  
"Hey, if we're talking about Inuyasha, he won't really care just as long as 'Kekki' is there," Miroku replied, smirking. I elbowed him, feeling my cheeks heat up. "But then again, the ever paranoid Eiji and Kikyo might start to notice that 'Kagome' seems to always be busy when 'Kekki' is around.."   
  
I heaved a huge sigh, slumping against myself. "I really am an idiot, you realize this?"   
  
"Of course, but we still love you!" Sango squeezed my shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, everything will work out all right.."   
  
"I have an idea..." Miroku cut in, falling in step with us. "This may be totally out of line, but why don't you _tell_ Inuyasha that you're really a girl...?"   
  
Both Sango and I gave him a chilly glare.   
  
"Ah.. yeah. That was just a.. yanno, ridiculous idea. I have _no_ idea what I was thinking when I said that.." Miroku was good at being sarcastic. He did it discreetly.   
  
I straightened my shoulders determinedly. "All right, I can do this. I'm tough. I'm strong! What could go wrong, huh? Nothing!"   
  
Murphy's Law has a sick sense of humor.   
  
*   
  
I got to the dance at around eight that night, half asleep on my feet. Bear with me—I had drunken a huge mug of coffee the night before and was up the entire night. You expect me to be perky and awake the night after? So anyway, I got to the dance and was automatically greeted by a very well groomed, and a very nice smelling Inuyasha. For once his wildly tangled mane of black hair was neatly combed and, of course, I immediately got jealous. I still hadn't gotten over the fact that Inuyasha's hair was longer than mine. Before I get into one of my jealous rages, though, let me tell you what he was wearing. I had to credit Inuyasha, he could dress _well_. He was clothed simply, wearing a long sleeve white shirt and one of those black, poofy-pillowy vests and black cargo pants, but he could pull 'simple' off _well_. He looked so dang huggable.   
  
I let Sango dress me that night. I don't know why, but for some reason my little posse had good taste. She dressed both my male me and my female me nicely, 'Kekki' wearing a pair of tight dark blue jeans and a simple, for me, scandalous violet tank top. When I pointed out that I would probably freeze my butt off if I stood outside for a couple of seconds, she laughed and reassured me that even the walls would be sweating that night and that I would be fine.   
  
So, okay, I have a reason for my actions. I was cold. Inuyasha looked warm. So I latched myself onto him for heat. The beautiful thing was he didn't say anything, just opened that huge, pillowy vest and engulfed me in it. This earned me a couple of catcalls from my _dear_ friends.   
  
"Hi," I mumbled into his toasty chest. I could hear his rumbly laughter very clearly from where I was, mind you.   
  
"Hi yourself. Cold?"   
  
"Just a bit. Could you tell?"   
  
"Don't worry, you'll warm up once we get inside."   
  
Actually, I was pretty happy where I was at the moment, all wrapped up in Inuyasha goodness, but I wasn't about to say that. I knew I wouldn't get past the third word without turning beet red.   
  
We pulled away from each other, mostly because the people around us were getting highly obnoxious. You know, making kissy sounds and barking and whistling and what not. Not only that, but I knew my face was turning an interesting shade of red, and from what I could see of Inuyasha, his was too.   
  
Inuyasha kept his arm around me as we walked in. That alone made my day.   
  
*   
  
What I didn't know when I walked into the gym was that people were waiting for me. A rather large handful of people. A rather large handful of people that I reaaaally didn't want to be waiting for me. Anyway, since I'm foreshadowing a little too much, let me explain a little. Keep in mind that I didn't know about these things until well after the dance, but I think this information is important.   
  
Kikyo had asked Kouga to go to the dance with her, and he agreed. This doesn't sound very important now, I realize, but trust me. It's important.   
  
A group of people were murmuring to each other, near another group of people who were shouting at each other in loud, rambunctious tones. These people would be important, too.   
  
And lastly, the one who ruined my entire night (I'm jumping ahead of myself again, sorry), was standing calmly in the corner.   
  
But I'll get to them later. Right now I would like to concentrate on me being in Inuyasha's arms, and him dancing gracefully with me about halfway through the dance.   
  
Okay, so I lied. Not gracefully. Decently, though. Well..   
  
"Ow!"   
  
Inuyasha removed his foot from on top of mine, looking utterly guilty. "Sorry, Kekki..."   
  
All right, so Inuyasha flat out sucked at dancing. But that's okay, really.   
  
"Owowow!"   
  
Really.   
  
Inuyasha stopped dancing, scowling slightly. "I'm really sorry, Kekki, but I never said I was the best dancer in the world.." He glanced over at the disc jockey. "Besides, this music sucks."   
  
I rubbed my ankle where he had accidentally kicked me, thankful for the break from dancing. "It's okay, really," I reassured him. "Let's just.. go sit down for a bit, okay?"   
  
First dates suck. The relationship with 'Kekki and Inuyasha' hadn't been developed at all during the short time we've known each other, while at the same time the 'Kagome and Inuyasha' friendship had blossomed to the point where we were nearly best friends. So, while Inuyasha only knew 'Kekki' for a short period of time, that would obviously make any future conversations near impossible, even though I wanted to go chattering about this and that and whatnot.   
  
I sat down on the bench, Inuyasha pausing in front of me. "Hold on, I'm going to get something to drink. Want anything?"   
  
I nodded my consent, smiling widely at him as he hurried away. Oh, hell, who cared if we were having 'first date' awkwardness. He was still awesome. But this was where I started to get my first doubts.   
  
I frowned when Inuyasha was suddenly cut from my line of sight, then looked up at the person who had unexpectedly done that.   
  
"Hi, Kouga," I greeted, smiling warmly. Although Kouga wasn't that close to me as Inuyasha or Miroku was, he still was an awesome friend and really nice once you got past the 'bad-boy' act.   
  
"H-hi, Kekki," he stammered quietly, shifting from foot to foot. He looked so adorably nervous for a moment, before he glanced to the side at an unseen source and seemed to pull his act together. "Anyway, since your date seems to've ditched you, I was wondering if you would like to dance with me..?"   
  
"Ditch me?" I repeated, confused. From what I knew, Inuyasha was still at the table, getting us drinks. For a moment, a wave of doubt washed over me. I was one of the boys, too, so I did hear when they chattered aimlessly about beautiful girls and whatnot. But he wouldn't do that to me, would he?   
  
Hesitantly, I glanced around Kouga. Inuyasha was at the table all right, leaning casually against it before handing Kikyo a glass of punch that I had an awful feeling was originally meant for me. My stomach dropped to my ankles, and I looked straight up into Kouga's eyes.   
  
"I'd like that very much."   
  
*   
  
Kouga could dance. He didn't step on my feet, not like that moronic, mean, two-timing..   
  
Not like Inuyasha.   
  
Kouga shyly pulled me closer, resting his head on top of mine. I was slightly uncomfortable about this situation, but I wasn't about to say anything. Oh no. Especially not when I saw Inuyasha yank Kikyo almost determinedly towards the dance floor and begin to slow dance with her.   
  
Grinding my teeth together, I pulled Kouga closer to me.   
  
*   
  
"They're being idiots," Miroku whispered to Sango. They were dancing close to me, so I could hear every word they were saying. I didn't block them out, though. I wanted to hear what they were saying. "All of them are."   
  
"We're the only sane ones here, aren't we, Priest?" Sango asked Miroku, before socking him none-to-lightly in the stomach. "Scratch that, _I'm_ the only sane one here. Keep your hands north of the border, buddy.."   
  
Miroku raised an eyebrow, and Sango stomped his foot. "Geez, I swear. You're the biggest pervert I know.."   
  
Miroku grinned, then crushed her into a tight hug. "Hey, at least our relationship's more stable than _theirs_ is." He paused, then glanced at me and lowered his voice. It didn't help much. "I think that 'Kekki' and Inuyasha would have been better off being friends first. They kind of rushed into the relationship really fast, yanno? They don't even know each other very well.."   
  
Now I _know_ that was intended for me to hear, or else Miroku wouldn't have said something as silly as that. I knew Inuyasha well enough, just not in my 'Kekki' mask. I slumped against Kouga, defeated. Maybe he was right. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Inuyasha, and almost let out a bitter chuckle when I saw the same defeated look on his face. He heard Miroku too, and maybe like me, he was agreeing with him.   
  
I straightened up suddenly. I wasn't going to accomplish anything by dancing with Kouga.   
  
"Excuse me," I said politely to Kouga, then released him and hurried to Inuyasha and Kikyo. I examined them for a moment, just sort of standing to the side and shifting from foot to foot. I, of course, felt very out of place. "Inuyasha?"   
  
I guess my voice held a rather pathetic note to it, because Inuyasha immediately looked down at me. He frowned, then without a parting note, let go of Kikyo.   
  
I didn't miss the vengeful look in her eyes as we quietly walked to the punch table.   
  
"I never got my drink," I said with forced light-heartedness. Inuyasha smiled weakly, as if he had a bad feeling. I knew I did.   
  
He remained silent until we reached the table. "Hey, Kek, before we sidetrack to far, because I know we will, why don't we just cut to the chase?" Inuyasha said, grabbing a glass and pouring some punch in it before handing it to me. "It's easier that way."   
  
"Well, I really like you," I admitted, shuffling my feet. "And I'm hoping you really like me too.."   
  
"..I do.."   
  
"..but I think Miroku was right."   
  
"You heard him too?" Inuyasha asked, then drew a long drink from the punch. "So you think we should just be friends?" He paused again, then looked bitterly at the floor. "I feel like I've just been dumped."   
  
"Well, you're silly," I stated firmly. He blinked at me in surprise. "I'm not saying that I don't want to not go out with you or anything. I just think we're kind of rushing into things, and I think we should slow down. You know, to be totally cheesy, get to know each other. Hang out. Play pool."   
  
"Play pool?" Inuyasha blinked again, and I was relieved to see a bit of the hurt on his face melt away.   
  
"Sure!" I said cheerfully. "Pool. I suck at the game, but I love it." Having nothing better to do, Inuyasha just blinked again. "Oh, come on. You know there's that billiards place by Pop Jordan's.." I stopped, then glanced at him hopefully. He had a small, half grin twitching at the corners of his lips.   
  
"Yeah." He shook his head, then sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We did kind of rush into things.." He took another sip of his drink, examining me out of the corner of his eye. Carefully, he pulled the cup away from his lips and set it on the table. "You know, I just realized that this drink tastes like shit."   
  
I blinked at him, then grinned. "I bet. Hey, friends can still dance, right?"   
  
"Well, yeah.."   
  
My grin became more teasing. My heart ached, though. "Lemme guess. The music sucks, right?"   
  
"Right." He grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I didn't do anything to make you.. just want to be 'friends' with me, right?" He looked like a kicked puppy. Frowning, I reached over and took his hand.   
  
"You didn't do anything." I got shy. "But, ah, you're my first 'relationship', and I just think it would be better if we took things one step at a time, you know? After all, this relationship did spring from a drunk kiss on top of a table.. I really do think it would be better if we took things slower."   
  
He nodded, then gave my hand a quick squeeze before letting it go. We stood their in comfortable, slightly fulfilled silence.   
  
I broke the silence first, struck by an thought. "Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom, okay?" Without further 'good-byes', I hurried over to Sango and Miroku.   
  
"Hey, I'm going to borrow your date for a moment." I said to Miroku, before grabbing Sango by her wrist and dragging her off.   
  
"What's the story, morning glory?" Sango asked as I rushed her to the girl's restroom. "What's up with you and Inuyasha, by the way?"   
  
"We're friends," I said shortly, continuing to impatiently yank her to the restroom. "Hurry! Don't you think people are going to start thinking it's kind of weird that 'Kagome' said he'd be here, but he hasn't even shown up even though it's been hours since the dance started?"   
  
"All right, all right, but I expect a fully detailed story later, okay?"   
  
"Right, right..." I shoved her lightly on the shoulder, and she walked into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she walked back out with a smug look on her face.   
  
"All's clear, Cap'n."   
  
I gave her a wary look. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden?"   
  
"Ah, I'm just having fun. Now go hurry and get changed. Inuyasha's probably rooting himself at the punch table, waiting for 'Kekki'..."   
  
I snorted at her, then walked in and shut the door behind me. Not bothering to go into one of the stalls, I hurried to where Sango had hidden the small duffel bag containing my 'boy' clothes and pulled it out of the large fern. Quickly, I yanked off my shirt and pants, changing into my 'Kagome' clothes. I glanced at myself in the mirror, flashed a toothy grin (while at the same time glad I wasn't wearing make-up) at my reflection, then hurried out. I had perfect timing, you know. Right when I hurried out of the girl's restroom, a girl walked by with a puzzled look on her face. When she saw me, that puzzled look turned into shock.   
  
"What?" I asked innocently, as if boys went into girl's bathrooms all the time. I grabbed Sango by the wrist again and hurried off, silently laughing at the now completely befuddled girl's face as she looked back and forth between then girl's and the boy's bathroom, before reluctantly walking to the male's restroom.   
  
"You know, it seems every time you and Inuyasha have an intimate moment, it's broken up by Kouga, then you and Inuyasha reslove it by becoming 'friends'," Sango said, slightly sarcastic as we headed towards the dance floor.   
  
"Maybe he and Miroku will sing to us tonight," was my easy reply.   
  
Sango snorted, and I sighed. "But really, I wish it hadn't turned out this way. I'd like it a lot more if I wasn't reasonable. First date's are _not_ supposed to begin like this, from what I know.."   
  
"Well, you and Inuyasha are a pair of a kind. Now hurry up, we're going to look pretty dang suspicious if we're walking side by side like this." She shooed me ahead.   
  
I didn't notice a pair of laughing, cat like eyes observing me from the shadows. I never did. Only this time, I didn't even notice the other pair of eyes accompanying her chilly stare from the other side of the room. Instead, I continued to walk easily back towards Miroku, Kikyo and Inuyasha, intent on depositing Miroku's stolen date back to him, even though I made her walk a couple feet behind me to make it look less.. obvious. I frowned, though, at Kikyo. She was standing too close to Inuyasha for my comfort.   
  
"Hey, 'Yasha, hey Priest!" I called as I walked up to them. Inuyasha turned, and I had to smile slightly. He was still where 'Kekki' had left him.   
  
When he saw me, he grinned. "Oh, it's you. I thought it was someone important." I glared at him. "Just kiddin', man. Anyway, it's about time you got here. Your sister's in the bathroom."   
  
Sango walked up from behind me. "Yeah, she told me to tell you guys that she had a horrible, horrible headache and she should be out in a bit," Sango said, lying through her teeth. "But you know Keks, hating to be around people when she was in pain and stuff.. She should be out in a bit, though."   
  
Sango was a good liar. I was very, very glad she was my friend.   
  
Inuyasha nodded, looking slightly worried. "She's okay though, right?"   
  
Awwww.   
  
"Yeah, she'll be okay," I reassured him, privately melting on the inside. He was worried. Christ, being just 'his friend' was going to be hard. "She always gets these kind of headaches, but don't worry about her."   
  
"So," Miroku said, grinning suddenly like a Cheshire cat. My stomach dropped, but this time because Miroku had a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Bring a date?"   
  
"Since I know soooo many girls around here," I said sarcastically, shoving my hands into my pockets. Partially because I had just realized I was wearing the same ring I had been wearing while I was 'Kekki', and I didn't want that to be noticed. I used my thumb to pry it off my finger, wondering if I inherited my absentmindedness from my grandfather.   
  
Suddenly, to my utter shock, a pair of arms snaked through my arms and around my waist from behind. I froze.   
  
"You know me, don't you?" A very feminine, very familiar voice whispered teasingly in my ear.   
  
_Eeeeek! I just got molested by a girl!_ That was a gross exaggeration, of course, but let me tell you, was I freaked. Like a bullet, I sprung away from the girl and hid behind Miroku. My eyes got all buggy, then I blinked a couple million times.   
  
"Wa.." Wait, what was that girl's name again? I knew it started with a 'Wa'.. "Wanaka?"   
  
The girl scowled at me, then smiled again. "That's 'Wazuka'." She squealed, then, clapping her hands together. "I'm so glad you remembered me!"   
  
Oh. Lord.   
  
.:end chapter eleven:.   
  
Kagome is straight. Inuyasha is straight. Things will get resolved, don't worry! There is a reason why Kagome decided to suddenly break the relationship with Inuyasha , and that's because I just realized how underdeveloped the Kekki/Inuyasha couple was. Yes, they're relationship is going to be rocky with many conflicts, like this one, but that's how they are in the story anyway.   
  
I'm going to answer this review here because it needs to be addressed. Long author's notes this time, skip if you don't want to read it ^__^;;   
  
_Chris-san: k, better review. I LOVE THIS STORY, IT'S HILARIOUS, AND CUTE, AND SERIOUS, AND GREAT IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!!! _   
  
Thank you very much ^____^. Actually, thanks to everyone. I really appreciate your support and patience.   
  
_If you want me to get nit picky...well then...   
  
First off, Yura's continuing re-appearance is just confusing. Has the IY group been re-born AGAIN? I dunno, however, the part about the "sit" and Hypnosis was just genius. _   
  
The dream Kagome had WAS a little weird, and truthfully just spur of the moment. I guess you could say they were reborn again, even though that doesn't make any sense timeline-wise. I just like her character, which is why she keeps reappearing. She's kind of a funny bad guy, and she was mandatory for the hypnosis scene. I plan to expand more on the dream—maybe in a side story or something. ^___^   
  
_Second, at the start of the story, you said that Kagome had driven 8 hours to get to the school, and then she ends up living only a few miles away... maybe someone's already told you this though, so I'll just shut up now._   
  
My explanation for that is that I'm dumb. -___-; This is the longest story I've ever written in my life, so it's hard for me to remember all the past details, as bad as that sounds. I think I should take a creative writing course next year or something—maybe that'll teach me to write down all the details I can't remember.   
  
Eight hours?! I'm crazy. That's gunna put a severe block on my story. From now on, Kagome only lives an hour from the school. -_-; I'm going to fix that in the previous chapters. I have NO idea what I was thinking when I said she lived EIGHT hours from school..   
  
_What I really want to commend you on are the characters! Somehow I can SOOO see Kagome's Grandpa as a baseball freak, switching teams every week. And I can see Miroku driving like a maniac, and I can see, well, just about everything. You've not only portrayed the characters, you've added to them in a believable but fun way, it's excellent! I'm going to shut up now...this is sooooo long..._   
  
Once again, thanks so much! ^___^ I appreciate it, and I doubly appreciate you pointing out my mistakes. It's good for future references. *hug* You're wonderful.   
  
Chapter twelve should be out soon, DEFINITELY not as long as it took me to get this chapter out. I'm really sorry about that! I had really bad writer's block! 


	12. Stand By Me

Small intermission and Chapter Twelve:   
  
I think it's due time for me to thank everyone who reviewed School Daze. I appreciate the critiques and the compliments; they always help me to either keep certain characteristics of my writing the way they are or fine tune the characteristics that.. well, need to be fine-tuned. It also encourages me to put out the newest chapters to SD ^___^   
  
Let me explain chapter eleven. It's not nearly as well-written and well-thought out as the past chapters, because I was in a hurry and crushed under a rather huge writers block. I realize now, after looking over it, I could have done so many things with that chapter that could have made it better. Oh well. I still have several more chapters to go before School Daze is finished.   
  
As one person pointed out in one of my reviews, the characters are unbearably flat in the story, besides Kagome. I do have plans for each character (i.e., Eiji is a computer hacker and Kikyo does dance), but most of these characteristics I didn't plan to expand upon until the later chapters. After all, only a couple of weeks have passed in the School Daze year, therefore I haven't been able to build up these characters. So that's my excuse for being a slacker. -____-;   
  
_Important_! For those who care, that is..  
Due to the fact that a couple of people have asked me to send them a notice as to when the next chapter of School Daze is out, I'll be starting a 'mailing-list' thing. Basically I'll just be adding you to my addy book and sending you an e-mail when I put out each chapter of School Daze. So, um, if you'd like me to send you a notice when I put out the next chapters to School Daze, just tell me over review or send me an e-mail at _clara_19_@yahoo.com. So basically, be all:   
  
I want you to send me the new chapters to School Daze!  
E-mail: [insert e-mail here]   
  
If you don't have e-mail, I'm sorry. @@;   
  
My fanfic webpage will be up in a bit. Actually, it is up, you just can't open anything. O_o; It's www.geocities.com/_clara_19_. Anyway, it'll be having School Daze on it, and several of my other fanfics (for Inuyasha (and other series), and even teasers to other stories that I'm not going to be putting up on FF.net any time soon. Fanart for Inuyasha (or other series..) or screencaps is always accepted. ^___^ Fanfics I'm a little iffy on, for my own reasons, but they're accepted. Contact me if you want me to put your 'Yasha fic (or any other series fic) up, and I'll discuss guidelines with you (I'm a stickler for grammar and correct spelling, even though I continually make my own mistakes..).   
  
Basically, I'm okay with almost everything. If you plan on sending me something, though, make sure it's at _least_ PG-15.. I don't want any crazy mother's e-mailing me, screaming about cartoon porn. If you DO send me something that has a higher rating than that, then please clearly mark what it should be rated.   
  
One thing: I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but I have my reasons. Prom is one of them, and being sick is another. I'm really sorry. ;_; Another thing is that I'm on the edge right now. School, finals, boys, my car getting broken into.. well, you know the story. But now it's summer and I'm happy. :D   
  
*tosses in some Sango/Miroku fluff for aurora borealis* ^^   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Twelve: Stand By Me  
by Clara

  
  
To recap, the gang and I were at a school dance, me hiding behind Miroku like the big, brave boy I am. Bear with me here, okay? It wasn't every day I got so blatantly hit-on-dash-groped-dash-whatever by someone of the female gender. It's a little.. well.. awkward, all right? Hell, I rarely get hit on by boys, let alone girls, so you can imagine my great surprise.   
  
Sango standing to the side and cracking up wasn't helping matters much, mind you.   
  
I had the distinct feeling that I would be safer if Wanaka or whatever thought I was a girl. Somehow, by the looks she was giving all the boys in the group (including _me_), I doubted she swung any other way but straight ahead. Which meant that it was highly unlikely that she would throw herself at my feet and profess her undying love for me while I was 'Kekki'. Okay, so I'm overreacting. That's expected, though, isn't it?   
  
Miroku sensed by discomfort better than anyone else (due to the fact that I was hiding behind me), and seemed to catch onto my thoughts. I could see his shoulders shaking in silent laughter, though, and I barely managed to keep myself from kicking him in the back of the ankles. Instead, I did what any red-blooded girl would do in a situation like this. I turned around and ran.   
  
"GottagosorryIreallygottapee!" I managed, somehow turning that entire sentence into one word. Miroku let out a bark of laughter, and I heard him say to the others, "I'll go make sure he doesn't try to sneak out a window, or something."   
  
Gee, Miroku, you're a lifesaver. I'm being vitriolic here.   
  
I peeked into the bathroom, looking left and right to make sure no one was… occupying any of the urinals or something. That would be rather embarrassing. Luck smiled down on me at that moment, because no one was there.   
  
"Hey, Kagome," Miroku's muffled voice called through the door. "I'm here, okay? No one should walk in on you or something…"   
  
I breathed a silent breath of relief, thankful for this sudden bout of luckiness.   
  
Luck is a tricky son of a bitch.   
  
*   
  
At this point, as I was struggling to put both my legs in one pant leg (because I'm smart like that), Miroku was leaning against the door of the male's bathroom, making sure no one would come in like the good guard dog he is. Notice my bitterness again. Anyway, as he stood in front of the door, a certain, attractive and very scantily clad young woman walked past him. Being who he was, he was automatically distracted.   
  
Yura smiled at him seductively. "Hello, Handsome."   
  
Miroku gulped.   
  
"What say… you and I get to… know each other a little better?" she asked, punctuating each break in the sentence with a little flip of her hair or a bat of her eyelashes. I wasn't there to see this, of course, but Miroku is good at describing.   
  
Miroku nodded once, those traitorous eyes examining her body. She smiled, knowing that she had already won, then did this little 'come hither' thing with her finger. He obeyed and followed her.   
  
Meanwhile, Hiten decided he had to go to the bathroom. Do you see where this is leading?   
  
Anyway, so there I was, pulling my shirt over my head (and thus revealing a whole lot of flesh), when someone pushed open the door. Quickly, I yanked my shirt back on. "Miroku!" I shouted, automatically suspecting my sometimes moronic friend. "What do you think this is, some kind of free peek-sho.. show.."   
  
Hiten blinked at me, then snapped his mouth shut. It had been hanging to his ankles.   
  
SHIT.   
  
"K-Kagome?" Hiten asked, shutting the door behind him. I took a step back   
  
"N-no," I answered, feeling all the blood rush away from my face and down to my ankles. I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was going to pass out.   
  
"Don't give me that shit," Hiten snapped waspishly. "You're wearing 'Kagome's' clothes. Do you have some kind of gender identity disorder or something? Do you really think you're a boy? Let me tell you something, boy's don't have _those_.."   
  
"NO, I don't think I'm a boy, thankyouverymuch!" I snapped back, folding my arms over my chest as if to protect myself. That just drew his eyes, well, _there_. "I know I'm a girl, and I have a reason to be dressing like this."   
  
"Inform me."   
  
I sneered at him. "I don't think you have the right to know why."   
  
Hiten shot me this very annoying smirk, leaning against the door. "You don't really have any choice, doll."   
  
I opened my mouth to holler at him for calling me 'doll', then changed my mind. He did have a certain power over me, now, and I was going to have to be careful.   
  
Sneering a little, I turned around and began to.. ah.. unwrap my chest. Hey, give me a break. He already knew, might as well keep changing.. Okay, so there are times when I don't think rationally, but bear with me. This was about the six billionth shock in one night, and I was getting a little weary.   
  
"I'm protecting my brother."   
  
"Oh."   
  
I blinked a couple of times and looked over my shoulder at him, confused at his response. He returned my baffled look with a haughty one, folding his arms over his chest.   
  
"Don't be stupid. I have my own brother who's always on the bad end of the boat, and I know what it's like to have to protect him."   
  
Still surprised, I looked at Hiten with a new type of respect. I hadn't thought there was anyone who was going through the same problems as I was..   
  
"..you're quite attractive, by the way."   
  
..Of course, he had to be an idiot.   
  
Growling irritably, I pulled my shirt over my head and pushed past him to the door. "Not in your wildest dreams, mister."   
  
"Ah, c'mon Kagome.. I'm a great guy and I can show you a _real_ good time.."   
  
I shut the door in his face.   
  
"Just give me a chance!" was his muffled yell.   
  
I stepped out of the bathroom area, looking around for Miroku to give him a piece of my mind. How dare he leave me on my own to deal with idiots like Hiten? And _now_ another one of my arch enemies knew my 'secret'. Before long, Naraku was going to know, then.. then..   
  
Oh shit.   
  
I turned around fast enough to nearly snap my neck and hurried back towards the men's bathroom, a determinedly frightened look on my face. However, before I got three paces to the door, an annoyingly familiar voice dragged me back.   
  
"Kagoooome! Hey, Kagome!"   
  
I stopped dead in my tracks and wondered who in the heavens hated me so much. I raised my eyes to the ceiling in a silent beg for respite, then turned around and plastered a huge, very fake smile on my face.   
  
"Hi, Yuka!"   
  
Boy, I was up the crap creek right now.   
  
Yuka was one of those girls who you couldn't lie to. It is just virtually impossible. The girl can see through every mask you put on and sniff a lie coming from a mile away. You can see my predicament here, can't you? Don't get me wrong, though. I love Yuka like a sister. In fact, she was my best friend throughout all my school years.   
  
So, of course, I had no idea what to do. All my friends _here_ knew me as Kekki. How was I going to explain to her that, hey, I was now called Kekki when I was a girl, and when I was dressed up as a boy, I was known as Kagome.   
  
I could feel the beginnings of what promised to be a very bad headache.   
  
"Kekki!" I spun around. Inuyasha was heading towards me, a happy smile on his face. I could feel my heart break.   
  
At the same time, Hiten walked out of the guy's bathroom, a determined look on _his_ face.   
  
The beginnings of that headache exploded into a full blown one.   
  
Inuyasha was going to find out.   
  
Shit.   
  
They all surrounded me, Inuyasha observing Hiten with a wary eyes, Hiten alternately glancing at me with a look in his eyes that I didn't want to know about and glaring at Inuyasha with all he was worth, and Yuka with one of those 'this ought to be interesting' expressions. I looked down at the floor and wondered why it wouldn't just open up and swallow me whole. That would make life so much easier for me. I wrapped myself in a slightly self-preserving hug, watching with impending doom.   
  
"Hey, Kekki," Inuyasha said hesitantly. Yuka looked at me with an upraised eyebrow, and Hiten looked as if he wanted to burst out laughing. He was the only one who knew of my inner turmoil right now, and I had a feeling he guessed about Yuka.   
  
Oh Lord.   
  
"Yes, hi Kekki," Hiten said. His grin rivaled a Cheshire Cat's.   
  
"I'm sorry, I seem to have been confused," Yuka stated, still looking at me with an upraised eyebrow. "I thought you were Kagome."   
  
"Nah, Kagome went and disappeared," Inuyasha shrugged a little. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Kagome's girlfriend or something, would you?"   
  
Yuka choked. Literally. I had to smack her on her back pretty hard to dislodge whatever she had choked on. She gave me one of those looks, then crossed her arms over her chest and gave Inuyasha a no nonsense look.   
  
"I most certainly am not!"   
  
Inuyasha frowned a little. "Hey, now, Kagome isn't that bad of a guy..."   
  
"I mean, I love Kagome like a friend but.. did you just say—" I smacked my hand over Yuka's mouth before she could finish her sentence, wearing my most innocent 'you've got to believe me' look on my face.   
  
"Ahaha, don't mind Yuka," I assured him. "She's been mine and Kagome's friend for _ages_. Her dating my _brother_," I paused to look meaningfully at Yuka. She glared at me, "would just be like.. uhm, you dating Sesshomaru."   
  
Inuyasha looked baffled for a moment, then disgusted. "Yuck, Kekki, that's a disgusting analogy."   
  
I grinned at him. Hiten stood behind me, shaking almost imperceptibly with silent laughter, his hand over his mouth. I wanted to kick him. Instead, I removed my hand from Yuka's mouth. She snorted at me, and I knew I would have a _lot_ of explaining to do.   
  
What confused me the most, at the moment, was why Hiten wasn't saying anything. His mouth was closed and his hands were folded militarily behind his back. He still had an amused look on his face.   
  
"Anyway," Inuyasha said, looking at me with a 'you're not telling me something but I can live with that for right now' look on his face, then jammed his hands in his pockets. "I'm actually looking for Miroku right now for Sango. She said she needed talk to him, but.." he glanced at Hiten with evident dislike. Hiten matched his look with an equally dark one.   
  
"Don't worry, Inuyasha, I currently have my eyes set on someone else."   
  
Both my eyebrows shot up at that, and I glanced at Hiten. He, surprisingly, was looking at Yuka with a frighteningly predatory look on his face.   
  
I almost laughed.   
  
Inuyasha looked at the three of us, frowned slightly, then sighed. "All right. I'll let you talk to your friend," he purposefully left out Hiten's name, smiling crookedly at me, "and look for that brick headed idiot. See you later, Kekki." With that, he walked off.   
  
I glanced at Yuka. She looked murderous.   
  
"All right, all right! I'll explain.."   
  
*   
  
Ten minutes later, me, Yuka, and Hiten were all sitting outside with a couple of sodas. Yuka had a faintly disbelieving look on her face.   
  
"Well, Kag, that story _is_ hard to believe... but since I know you so well, I have a feeling it's true. You and your family are insane like that." She took a long drink from her soda, then glanced at Hiten. "But that doesn't explain braided boy wonder, here."   
  
"He walked in on me," I explained shortly, and glared at him. "What _are_ you still doing here, anyway?"   
  
Hiten grinned, showing a couple of canine's that were a little too sharp for comfort. "Well, Kagome dear, you owe me for not saying anything to your friends, or, of course, mine." He crossed his feet at the ankles, still smiling evilly enough to rival Satan. "So I'm here to discuss my payment with you."   
  
"I won't have your children," I said automatically. Hiten laughed.   
  
"I'm too young for children," Hiten said, still chuckling slightly. "But.."   
  
I held my breath, dreading the next words. I knew they were gunna be, "date me!" or something repulsive like that.   
  
Hiten glanced at Yuka. "Hook me up with your lovely friend."   
  
I fell backwards off the bench and Yuka spit out her orange soda everywhere. Hiten smiled pleasantly and sipped his Mr. Pibb.   
  
Carefully, I pulled myself back onto the bench, brushing the dirt off my back and trying to look as if I had meant to fall of the bench. Yuka was still coughing rather violently, looking at Hiten with disbelief in her eyes. Hiten just sat their, still smiling insufferably.   
  
"No way," Yuka spat, crossing her arms over her chest determinedly.   
  
"Consider Kagome's rep ruined, then," Hiten said. He didn't move, and his pleasant smile didn't even slip an inch. My hands flew to my face in almost comic despair.   
  
"Yuuuka!" I wailed, dropping my hands to clutch her shoulders. "You've got to help me! Please!"   
  
"I don't even know the guy!" Yuka looked as if she was about to have a panic attack. It didn't help her appearance that she had a bit of orange soda on her nose.   
  
Hiten still smiled. "I'll lower the stakes a bit. Let me have a month of dates with you, every Friday of every week that month, and any time I want to see you in between. _Then_ I'll just pretend like that I never found out about 'Kekki'."   
  
In the midst of his speech, I chanted my new favorite mantra. "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.."   
  
Yuka looked back and forth between Hiten and me, resembling a scared deer. She was clutching her soda can hard enough to dent the aluminum. "Ah.. ah.." Her face crumpled, and she glared at both of us with equal intensity. "All right, all right. But only because you're my best friend, Kago." Her glare darkened. "I don't see why _I_ have to suffer for _your_ problems," she grumbled, glaring.   
  
"Trust me, though," I muttered, "I'm suffering for them, too."   
  
*   
  
When I walked back into the room, Sam Cook was mellowly singing 'Stand by Me'. I immediately saw Sango and Miroku dancing together somewhere in the middle of the room, Miroku sporting a red hand print on his cheek and Sango looking slightly guilty but still angry. Miroku would later tell me that she had found out about Yura. Eiji, surprisingly, was dancing with Wataka.. (or was it Wakiki?) with a resigned look on his face, and Inuyasha was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, neither was Kikyo.   
  
Hiten automatically dragged a resisting Yuka to the middle of the dance floor, leaving me by my lonesome self. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining. Them leaving me alone meant I could finally get some peace, something I hadn't gotten the entire night. I wandered towards the punch table, glancing at my watch that glowed in the dark (how cool am I?). It was ten minutes to eleven, meaning the dance was just about to end.   
  
I smiled wistfully. A perverse part of my mind admitted that this wreck of a night was fun. Well, kind of. Hey, I got to see Yuka and Inuyasha hadn't found out. I also got to be both 'Kagome' and 'Kekki' at the same time, which was a feat I was damn proud of. Therefore, this night turned out, for me, fine.   
  
I leaned against the punch table, sipping my drink and grinning slightly. To my surprise, the table shifted a little as someone else leaned against it beside me.   
  
"So, where'd Kagome disappear to?" Inuyasha asked, grabbing a punch cup.   
  
"Saw an old friend," I said, cheerfully. I sipped the saccharine drink. We didn't look at each other, instead content on watching the dancers. "They went out to have coffee and talk."   
  
"Ah," Inuyasha said, accepting what I said completely. I smiled into my drink. "Having fun?"   
  
"Well, this night has most definitely been an interesting one," I said to him, still smiling. "How come you aren't dancing?"   
  
"Didn't really feel like it," Inuyasha said, loftily.   
  
"I see."   
  
_So darling, darling  
Stand, by me.._   
  
"But.." Inuyasha started. We were both still looking at the dancers. "If you don't have anyone to dance with, and _you_ really, really want to dance, I'll be happy to dance with you."   
  
My smile widened. "Even though you don't feel like dancing?"   
  
"I'll make an exception just for you," Inuyasha answered.   
  
"I think," I said, as I sat down my cup, "I'll take you up on that offer."   
  
Inuyasha finally turned to look at me, and his grin softened to a smile. He set his cup on the table, then took my hand and led me to the middle of the dance floor.   
  
"As long as you don't step on my foot, 'Yasha.."   
  
"I can't promise that." He wrapped his arms around my waist.   
  
_Won't you.. stand by me..  
Just as long, as you stand..   
Stand by me.._   
  
*   
  
I love the weekends. I mean, I have fun at school and all, and I DO actually enjoy my classes (sans Algebra 2, but I'll get into that later), but I must say that I adore the weekend. I mean, when else can you get two days of rest, relaxation, and time to do whatever the hell you want? Please keep any and all smartass comments about summer, winter, and spring vacation, thank you.   
  
Anyway, what I love about the weekends is that I can sleep in until two in the afternoon. I love sleeping in as much as I love weekends. Especially after dances or parties. So, since it was the weekend, and it was the morning after a dance, I was currently buried under a mountain of blankets and pillows, happy sleeping my life away.   
  
My phone rang. Being as easily startled as I was, I fell out of my bed.   
  
My, I fall a lot, don't I?   
  
"Hello?" I grated out. I hate mornings. I hate mornings on weekends. I hate mornings when it's SIX O' BLOODY CLOCK on the weekends.   
  
"Hi!" Miroku chirped cheerfully. Damn morning people. I hate 'em. "Kagome? Man, you sound like hell!"   
  
"Miroku..." I said slowly. "What the HELL do you think you're doing, calling me at six in the morning?!"   
  
"Well, I _was_ going to invite you to the beach with us for the weekend, but if you're going to be a jerk about it.."   
  
I shot up to a sitting position, clutching the blankets around my chest. "You're kidding me, aren't you? You're freakin' kidding."   
  
"Lemme guess, you're a beach bum, aren't you?" Miroku asked with dry amusement. I snorted at him.   
  
"Damn right I am. But no joke?"   
  
"No joke. Not at all. I have a beach house, and it's still amazingly hot out.."   
  
Okay, I was immature when I got excited. Bear with me, all right? It wasn't every day that I got to go to the beach with a group of friends. And I loved the beach. Adored it. The ocean was so dang fun..   
  
"When do you want me at your house, and what should I bring?"   
  
I could almost hear Miroku grin over the line. "Shouldn't you worry about who you should be?"   
  
"Kekki, of course," I responded immediately. There was no way I was going to be Kagome if that meant I couldn't go swimming.   
  
"That's what Sango and I thought, too. I'll just tell Inuyasha that the reason why Kagome couldn't go was because he twisted his ankle falling down the stairs or something."   
  
I paused, nearly dropping the phone. Not because of his excuse, mind you. "Um, Miroku..?   
  
"No, she did NOT spend the night at my house, pervert," Miroku snapped lightheartedly. "I just finished talking to her on the phone."   
  
"Really? Dang, you must have called her really early."   
  
"Ummm..."   
  
"Awww!" I squealed, "You guys talked the entire night, didn't you?! How perfectly adorable!"   
  
"I know I am," Miroku agreed. He didn't deny talking to Sango all night. How cute. "Anyway, if you wanna come with us, be at my house by twelve."   
  
I glared at the wall. "Why on earth are you calling me at six, then?!"   
  
Miroku laughed. "Because I like making you suffer." He laughed and we hung up, that is, of course, after I yelled a couple of obscenities at him. I sighed happily and put phone back in it's cradle.   
  
Did I mention that I loved weekends?   
  
*   
  
I got to Miroku's at 11:30, shouldering a large black duffel bag. I was actually kind of surprised that my mother had agreed to let me go, since Miroku invited me the morning of. I think it's because she loves my friends so much. Probably because Miroku is a total kiss-ass. Anyway, when I got to Miroku's house, Sango was already there.   
  
On the couch.   
  
With Miroku.   
  
Kissing him.   
  
"AWWWW!" I couldn't help it. Both Miroku and Sango jumped and sprung apart, Sango turning an unhealthy shade of maroon. Miroku was startled for a few moments, before he grinned smugly.   
  
"K-Kagome!" Sango sputtered out, jumping to her feet. "Here, let me help you with that." With that said, she grabbed my big bag and raced up the stairs, somehow dragging me along with her. I did, however, see Miroku fall backwards happily on the couch. I grinned.   
  
Sango pushed me into the guests room, then looked at me. After awhile, her lips started twitching. Abruptly, she started laughing giddily. "I did it. Can you believe it? _I_ kissed _Miroku_." She was practically dancing. I had to laugh. "I actually did it! I finally kissed him!" She fell back onto the bed dramatically, still laughing,. I grinned at her, sitting beside her on the bed.   
  
"Hey, I'm happy for you. Was this the first time the two of you kissed?"   
  
"Well, no, but our first kiss doesn't count."   
  
"Oh?"   
  
It turns out Sango and Miroku kissed for the first time when they were a grand total of five years old. They had been drinking lemonade under one of their favorite trees when Miroku had brought up an entirely too interesting topic.   
  
"I saw Inuyasha's older brother kiss a girl yesterday," Miroku had told her, bubbling up his lemonade by blowing through his straw. "I think their braces stuck together."   
  
"Ewww.." Sango had shuddered, sipping her own lemonade. She managed to spill a quarter of it on her shirt. "I wonder why adults think kissing is so great?"   
  
Miroku looked at her thoughtfully, before grinning. "Hey, do you want to try and see?" he had asked as innocently as only a five year old can.   
  
"Ewww.. kiss you?!" Sango made a disgusted face. "Gross."   
  
Miroku pouted at her. "Come on, it's only once!" He paused. "I'll give you a nickel if you kiss me."   
  
"A nickel? A whole nickel?" Sango's eyes had lit up. "All right, fine. Give me the nickel first, though."   
  
He made a face at her, then fished around in his pocket and pulled out a nickel, handing it to her. "Okay, now you HAVE to kiss me."   
  
Sango took the nickel and shoved it in her pocket, then looked uncertain for a minute. "All right." Hesitantly, she puckered up her lips (like a fish.. Sango showed me while she was telling the story, and let me tell you it was hilarious) and looked at him with wide eyes.   
  
"You're doing it ALL wrong," five-year-old Miroku had said. "You gotta close your eyes. Like this." He puckered up in a way that was more hilarious than Sango's expression, then closed his eyes.   
  
Sango nodded, then mimicked him. "Now what?" she had asked, still keeping the fish lips and her eyes closed. Actually, she had whispered the question, in fear of ruining the moment.   
  
"We move in and then push our lips together." Miroku didn't change his expression either.   
  
"Oh, okay." After a few moments, they moved in and attempted to kiss. Unfortunately, it's very hard to aim with your eyes closed, and Miroku ended up planting a sloppy kiss on Sango's chin.   
  
Sango had started giggling uncontrollably, at that.   
  
"Okay, let's try again," Miroku had said, determined to get his nickel's worth. They puckered up again, Sango still once in awhile giggling, and kissed. It was a sloppy, wet, nose crushing kiss that lasted for only a few moments before they both pulled away.   
  
"Well, that was yucky," Sango calmly informed him, wiping her lips then sipping her lemonade.   
  
"Yeah. I wonder why grown ups like to do it so much?"   
  
After Sango finished the story, I couldn't stop laughing. That was so much like Sango and Miroku it wasn't funny. Well, okay, so it was. Funny and adorable.   
  
"Yes, well, anyway.." Sango coughed, then grinned. "Anyway, so THIS kiss is a bit better than THAT one.."   
  
I wiggled my eyebrows at her. "Oh, really?"   
  
Sango stuck out her tongue. "We both have a bit more experience on the subject matter at hand, and considerable more knowledge."   
  
My grin widened.   
  
"Shut up," Sango said, blushing slightly. "And keep those dirty thoughts to yourself. I swear, you've been hanging out with Miroku waaaaay too much."   
  
"What can I say? He's my best friend."   
  
*   
  
We all piled into Inuyasha's van at twelve that afternoon. Let me explain this van to you. It's big. It's blue. It has flames painted across the sides, and smiley face lights. It also had an awesome system, two couches (!), and a cooler. Inuyasha had taken out it's original seats and replaced it with those couches, which I had a feeling was illegal.   
  
The van ROCKED.   
  
So there we were, all piled in the van, talking too loud, laughing to loud, and listening too music, which is too loud. On our way to the beach. With surfboards. Meaning, I got to learn how to surf.   
  
I love weekends.   
  
.:end chapter twelve:.   
  
Sorry about the super long wait. I hope the lengthened chapter made up for it a little. X_x; 


	13. Beach Bums

A/N:  On June 17th, 2002, my best friend in the entire world got in a very bad car accident.  Severe enough send her to the hospital for two months.  Consequently, that affected my writing.  I'm not going to say that I didn't write this summer, but I wrote a lot less, and some stories were put on a hold because I couldn't write in the style it needed to be written in, due to quite a bit of depression.  Unfortunately, School Daze was one of those fics.

Fortunately, my friend is out of the hospital and is doing better.  She's getting her memory back, slowly but surely.  She still can't remember some things, and there is the possibility that she never will.

School Daze is back in the works, after a summer-long break.  My apologies for the long wait.

Oh, and for more announcements, feel free to IM me on AIM.  My SN's "CinnamonDreamer".  Without the quotes. 

Someone brought up something about me adding Japanese dialect into the story.  I'm sorry, but I don't do that.  For one thing, they're already in Japan and, technically, I'm 'translating' their dialect.  Therefore, they're already speaking Japanese and writing the dialect in that language would just be pointless and hard for people who don't know Japanese to understand.  Do you catch my drift?   

* 

            Considering the fact that the ocean is notorious for being teeth-chattering cold, I could actually say without lying that it felt rather decent at the moment.  The water was so crisp and clear that I could see the little fishies nibbling at my toes.  We were at one of _those kinds of beaches, you know, the kind where the water is perfect and the sand is white and the palm trees look like paintings.  The overrated kind._

            Don't get me wrong, though, it was beautiful.  My only problem was what I was wearing.

            Sound weird?  Let me explain.

            I'm not particularly fond of dresses.  I mean, once in awhile I'll wear them, but truthfully they're a bit too breezy for me.  I usually stick with a pair of pants and a nice, figure-hiding shirt.

            Anyway, I'm getting off-track.  One of the main problems with the dress I was wearing (aside from the fact it _was a dress), was that it was white.  You don't wear something white to a beach.  That's like,__ asking to ruin the outfit.  For one thing, the beach is primarily dirt.  White and dirt just don't mix well together._

            Okay, so I was wearing a white dress.  Now that that's been clarified, let me start where things got weird.  Ignore the fact that I was standing ankle deep in water wearing a short white dress.  I mean, yeah, that's weird, but it wasn't as weird as the next few things that happened.

            I was standing sideways, my left side to the ocean.  Therefore, I was looking to the right.  And I was waiting for someone.  I'm not entirely sure how I knew I was waiting for someone, but it was just one of those gut-instinct things.

            Starting to sound a little strange?  Okay, prepare yourself.

            Inuyasha was running down the beach towards me.  I could almost hear the cheesy muzak in the background, but what did I do?  I started running towards him.  And I laughed.

            We reached each other rather quickly, and Inuyasha grabbed me around the waist and swung me in a half circle.  I laughed again, then breathed out his name as he cupped my face and..

            I, thank God, woke up.  

            I could literally feel my face do that slow-burn thing.  Thankfully, Lady Luck seemed to be on my side and everyone but Inuyasha, who was driving, was asleep.

            The look that Inuyasha was giving me in his rearview mirror let me know that Lady Luck was just screwing with my head.  
  
            "So, Kekki, have a nice dream?" Inuyasha asked, a knowing grin spreading across his lips.

            "For your information, no," I mumbled back.  I think, by that point, my face was maroon.

            "Oh, I don't know."  He was still looking at me in the rearview mirror.  "I think it _sounded pretty interesting."  He cleared his throat, then in a completely over exaggerated impression of my voice, said, "oh, Inuyasha.."_

            Okay, so I right about then I broke the world record in blushes.

            "I was at your funeral," I said weakly.  His laughing gaze was starting to bug me.

            "I don't know.."

            "Keep your eyes on the road."

            "..it didn't _sound like you were at my funeral.."_

            "KEEP YOUR DAMN EYES ON THE ROAD!"

            He, that punk, laughed.

**School Daze**

Chapter Thirteen: Beach Bums

By Clara

            It took another hour for us to get to the beach.  You can just imagine how that hour was for me.  Let's put it this way.  I was sitting next to Miroku.  Miroku had driver's duty next.  Therefore, Miroku and Inuyasha switched places, leaving me with a dark haired boy who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.  On my other side was Kouga.  Unfortunately, when I shouted my orders to Inuyasha earlier, everyone woke up.  Therefore, I was sitting beside a teasing Inuyasha and a vengeful Kouga.

            Ha.  Kagome is NOT amused.

            Not only did I get teased like hell by Inuyasha and flirted with by Kouga, I had to put up with Miroku's insane driving and a rather unnerving death glare by Kikyo.  Suffice to say, I was getting rather claustrophobic.  And car sick.  And more than a little homicidal.

            "GET ME OUTTA THIS CAR!"

            "Hey, Kagome, relax!  We have like, fifteen more minutes," Miroku said easily.  He took a sharp left without turning on his blinker or looking over his shoulder, sending me flying against Kouga.

            In a rather interesting position.

            "Oh, sure," Inuyasha huffed, folding his arms behind his head, "you have a dream about me, then throw yourself all over another guy.  Ch.  Women these days."

            I shot back into a sitting position, then reached over and smacked Inuyasha upside the head.

            "Ow!"

            I swear, there has never been a time where I've wanted to use the word 'sit' more.  _Why did I agree to go on this trip as a girl?  If I were a boy, then at least all that attention wouldn't be centered on me._

            Then again, if I was a boy and had that dream…

            Truthfully, I don't understand how my relationship with Inuyasha changed so drastically in the span of one night.  I know we agreed to just be friends and all, but I was kind of expecting some sort of like, tension or something.  You know, like the first date awkwardness.  Or maybe like the kind of awkwardness that Kikyo and Inuyasha share.  I didn't exactly expect us to become best buddies..

            Okay, so truthfully I was confused.  Very confused.  Maybe this weekend will clear everything up..

            Yeah, right.  And pigs fly.

*

            We got to the beach, as Miroku predicted, fifteen minutes later.  I almost kissed the ground.  I made sure I was the first one out of the van, lightly shoving Inuyasha out of my way.  Sango came after me, smiling a bit.  All right, so it was natural that she stuck to my side like glue.  After all, the only reason why 'Kekki' was on this trip was because she and Sango were best friends.  It made crooked sense.

            "Fun, huh, Kekki?" she asked, draping a friendly arm around my shoulders.  I gave her a dry look and started to the back of the van, she keeping in step with me.

            "Oh, yeah.  About as fun as running around naked in my school."  Of course, only she and Miroku would get that, but thankfully Miroku wasn't around to make crude comments.  Sango just laughed and reached over to open the trunk.

            "You come up with interesting analogies, Kag."  I didn't kill her for using that nickname, since everyone was out of hearing range.  "Hey, at least that would be an easy way for Inuyasha to find out.."

            "Find out what?"

            Eiji has perfect timing, yanno?

            "Umm.."  I tried to think clearly and quickly.  I really did.  But I mean, put yourself in my shoes!  We'll see how many good excuses _you can come up with._

            "His surprise party," Sango cut in smoothly.  I swear, I loved that girl.  "I was going to tell you about that later, but it seems you beat me to it."

            Eiji gave her a weird look.  "Inuyasha's birthday is in six months."

            "Always best to think ahead!"  Sango flashed a peace sign, but I could tell she was mentally kicking herself for that slip.  "Anyway, quit talking and start unloading."  She got this creepy 'don't-even-think-about-asking-anymore-questions' look on her face, then reached around Eiji to grab an oversized backpack.  Not thinking about it, she tossed me the bag.

            I caught it, then was knocked over.

            "Eek!"  I toppled over and landed rather gracelessly on my rear.  "What's in here?!  Rocks?

            "That's Miroku's bag," Sango said cheerfully, tossing out another bag.  It landed on top of Miroku's, therefore, on top of me.  "Who knows what's in there.  It's probably the pretty-boy's make-up or something."

            "Hey!" Miroku cried from somewhere to my right.  He came into view, then plucked one of the bags off me as if it weighed nothing.  "I heard that."

            "Good!" Sango chirped, then tossed out another bag.  Eiji caught it.  

            I grumbled at the three of them and somehow managed to swing the backpack over my shoulder.  It dwarfed me.  Inuyasha appeared, took one look at me, then cracked a grin and moved over to the back of the trunk.  He pulled out a relatively small bag, then tossed it to me.  Without another word, he reached over and grabbed the backpack from my shoulders and swung it onto his.

            "Hey, Lightweight, if we let you carry something like that it'll take us ages to get to Miroku's house.  Stick with something small.

            My, I was starting to blush as much as I was falling these days..

            "I'm not a lightweight," I grumbled to his retreating form.  He laughed and Sango gave me a knowing smirk.  "Keep any and all comments to yourself, Sango."   I straightened up proudly and started to walk after Inuyasha.

            "Oi, Kagome, before you go.."  Miroku beckoned me over, then weighed me down with more supplies.  I glared at him from over a closed umbrella.  "Hey, don't look at me like that, manly man.  The more we carry, the fewer trips we have to take!"

            Ah, the mentality of your every day teenager.

            "Great," I grumbled, continuing to follow Inuyasha.  "I lose one burden and get stuck with another."

            "Suck it up," Kikyo huffed as she walked past me.  I blew a raspberry at her back, and she ignored me.

            Faaaantastic.

*

            I had no idea Miroku was rich.

            "Woooo," Eiji breathed out, looking around in wonder.  Seeming to not think about it, he kicked off his shoes.  I followed his example.  I mean, hey, I wasn't about to get this beautiful place dirty.  "This is awesome, Priest."

            Sango nodded in agreement, moving around in a small circle to examine her surroundings.  In fact, most of us began to wander around, lightly touching things as if we were in a museum.  It was, well, it was white.  And it was covered with windows and sophisticated, expensive-looking paintings.  It even smelled nice.  Like lavender or something.

            I picked up a porcelain cat and whistled under my breath.  "Man, you've got a nice place here, Miro..." I looked over at my friend, then blinked.  He was _blushing.  From what I knew about him, Miroku never blushed.  Not only was he blushing, but he was looking at Kikyo and Inuyasha in an embarrassed sort of way.  The two said characters were standing a little to the side, wearing identical expressions of wonder.  It was almost as if they had never seen a place like this before._

            "..ku," I finished belatedly.  I set the cat down quickly after I realized I was still holding it.  As discreetly as I could, I edged over to Sango.  She looked up from a crystal chess set she was observing. 

            "Hey," I whispered to her.  "What's up with Miroku, Inu, and the wicked witch from the West?"

            Sango blinked, then looked over her shoulder at the three of them.  Inuyasha and Kikyo still hadn't moved, and Miroku had switched his self-conscious gaze to his feet.

            "Ohh.."  A look of understanding crossed Sango's face, and she tugged me further away from the three of them.  The three stooges?  Yeah, right, if Kikyo ever intentionally did _one funny thing in her life, I'd eat my shoe.  "You know what?  I think I'll let Miroku or Inu tell you about what's up."_

            Great.  I hate being the newcomer.  It's like, everyone has a secret that everyone else knows, and when you ask them what that secret is, they just tell you "nothing".  I sighed and moved back over to the bags and looked down at them.  They looked out of place.

            "Hey, Miroku!" I sidled up to his side, and the said boy jumped near a foot.  He looked at me as if he was a kid who did something wrong.  "Where are we supposed to put our stuff?"

            It took a few moments for my words to register in his brain.  "Oh!  Uhm, okay, since there's three bedrooms, and.." he counted silently for a moment, his lips moving with each number he got to, "..seven of us, it's going to be three girls to one bedroom, two boys to another, and the other two to the last."  He paused, and thoughtful Miroku became lecherous Miroku.  "Unless, of course, you want to share your bedroom with me.."  He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, then laughed and ducked when not only I tried to smack him upside the head, but Inuyasha and Sango.  Those two can move remarkably fast when they're stimulated.

            I smiled, though.  A thoughtful Miroku was rather unnerving.  Not only that, but when he laughed it broke the tension in the room, as corny as that sounds.

            "All right!"  Sango clapped her hands together, taking charge the way only a girl can take charge.  "I'm going to go bring the food to the kitchen."  With that being said, she picked up the oversized cooler and walked off.

            She didn't ask for directions.  I raised an eyebrow at Miroku, and he shrugged.

            "Don't look at me.  As far as I know, she's never been here before.  I figure she'll figure out the kitchen is in the other direction after wandering for a couple of minutes."

            I shook my head, still smiling a bit.  Miroku's relationship with Sango was just as odd as mine was with Inuyasha.  I found my bag after digging around for a few minutes, the swung it on to my shoulder.

            "Where's the girl's room?" I asked.  Kikyo moved up to my side and picked up another bag that was noticeably smaller than mine.  She was steadfastly not looking at me.

            Yay!  I get to share my room with Miss I'm-better-than-you.

            I could almost cry.

*

            I changed right after I got to the room, grabbed a towel and some sunscreen, and trucked on out to the beach.  I didn't want to be in the same room as Kikyo for a long amount of time, you realize, and I _did want to explore the beach._

            It wasn't a private one like I was led to believe, but hell if I was going to complain.  There were several people already sprawled across their towels and bronzed, but that's not what caught my attention.

            Apparently, someone else thought staying at the beach was a good idea, too.

            "Yuuuka!" I called.  The poor girl was currently sitting as far as she could from her 'date', and I'm sure you can guess who _that was.._

            "Kag—Keiki!" She automatically corrected herself just in case, even though I was alone.

            "That's Kiki," Hiten corrected amiably.  He was reading a rather thick book and was wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses.

            "_Kekki," I said, rolling my eyes.  I hauled my towel over to my friend.  "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?  Date?" I wiggled my eyebrows at them, and, predictably, Yuka turned crimson._

            "Partially," Hiten explained, dog-earring the book and closing it.  He pulled off his glasses and grinned at Yuka, then turned his gaze to me.  "I'm also here because Naraku had the bright idea to have a sort of 'training' weekend for baseball.  We were allowed to bring… friends, though."

            "I'm not your friend," Yuka grumbled.  He ignored her, but he was smiling. 

            "Training weekend?" both my eyebrows shot up.  Somehow, I didn't think Inuyasha would be happy to hear about that..

            "Yeah."  He stopped suddenly, then _looked at me.  I mean, really looked at me.  "Wait.  Don't tell me you're a part of the team for __your school.."_

            "Maybe," I said mysteriously.  Yuka reached up and grabbed my towel, laying it flat beside her.  I got the strangest feeling that she didn't want to be left alone with the 'braided boy wonder'.  Hiten got this funny unhappy look as I sat beside them, after removing unnecessary particles of clothing.  I mean, who goes to the beach wearing clothes?  And before you get any perverted ideas, yes, I was wearing a bathing suit.

            "You won't be able to keep up."

            I bristled, and Yuka glared at him.

            "Don't underestimate Kagome.  She's been playing ever since she can walk.  If it were a one on one between the two of you, I'd put my bets on Kagome."

            "That's only because you don't like me," Hiten said, still grinning.  He flattened himself across the towel, but was looking up at something that seemed to be just over my head.  For some reason, Yuka was looking there, too.

            I blinked, then looked over my shoulder.

            Kudos to you if you guessed that Inuyasha was standing there.

            Hiten grinned at Inuyasha's shocked expression, then waved to the space beside me.  "Pull up a towel, Inuyasha.  We can make it a double date."

            Inuyasha scowled at that description, but flattened out his towel beside me.  I got the feeling he didn't want me to be left alone with Hiten, even though Yuka was there.

            "What are you doing here, Thunder?" Inuyasha asked uneasily.

            "Reading 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens for English.  I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of him."  Even I could hear the thinly veiled insult in Hiten's light tone.  Inuyasha's glare turned hateful.  Yuka shifted uncomfortably.  "Though I'd much rather enjoy these two beauties beside me."

            I could feel my ears turn red.  I wasn't blushing because Hiten complimented me (you get used to it when you're always with Miroku), but because I just realized my state of undress.  I mean, this is the first time Inuyasha had ever seen me in a bathing suit.  Of course I was going to be a little self-conscious.  I mean, I didn't have the most spectacular body.  I was stick skinny and wasn't quite what one would call 'voluptuous'.  It was embarrassing.

            I have a feeling Inuyasha took my blush wrong, though, because he fell silent and got this sulky expression on his face.

            We didn't stay long with them, though.  After awhile, I think Hiten got tired of our company and made Yuka move with him somewhere else.  Poor thing.

            I wasn't complaining though.  I needed to talk to Inuyasha.

            "You know…" I started, looking up at the sky through my sunglasses.  It was bright.  "They're not just here as a date."

            "Hm?"  I couldn't figure out why Inuyasha was lying out here to tan.  I mean, he was already dark.  And muscular.  And glinting under the sun.  And..

            Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my face.

            "The whole group's here.  They're training for baseball season."

            Inuyasha's relaxed expression did a one-eighty, and he tensed up completely.  Ooo.  Muscles.

            "Well, shit.  There goes my weekend."   He sighed and sat up.  "That is, my weekend and the guys' weekend.  There's no way I'm going to let Naraku get the better of us!"  He punched the sand in emphasis.

            "Hey, um," I dug my toes in the sand almost shyly.  "I know this sounds weird, but.."  I paused, then took a deep breath.  "DoyouthinkIcantrainwithyouguys?"

            I'm talented.  Anyway, I did have a reason for wanting to train with them.  I mean, 'Kagome' _is on the team, and there is the fact that I __do want to get back in shape.._

            Inuyasha looked at me from the side, and raised an eyebrow.  I could tell he wanted to same something along the lines of how I wouldn't be able to keep up with them because I was a girl, but thankfully he swallowed any derogatory comments.  I was afraid I was going to have to smack him.

            "All right."  He grinned slightly, then relaxed back against the towel.  For a moment, we lay there in silence, before Inuyasha turned his head back to me.  "Hey, Kek.  You don't like those kinds of guys who compliment you just to get into your pants, do you?"

            I blinked, then put on my best serious face.  "I love 'em!"

            "Wh-what?"  I could almost see him thinking something like '_Is that...is that what she really wants?'_

            "Calm down.  I'm kidding.  I'm kidding, okay?"  I sprawled out across my towel, stomach first.  Inuyasha was looking at the sky with an odd expression on his face.

            I think I just unintentionally gave Inuyasha an idea.

.:end chapter thirteen:.

Woo!  Well, I'm glad THAT'S done and over with.  Anyway, I'll be sure to explain just what Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Miroku are hiding in the next chapter.  Thanks for your patience!


	14. Pick Me Up

Thank you every one for pointing out my stupid mistake on having Miroku call Kagome 'Kagome'. That was purely a slip. He originally meant to call her Kekki, but I'm stupid like that.   
  
On Tuesday, not to my knowledge, my grandfather died.   
  
*   
  
We didn't stay on the beach for too long. I could tell Inuyasha was getting antsy just lying there and not training, and, heavens forbid, letting Naraku get ahead, so I was the one suggested going back. He didn't put up much a fight, but he still had this mysteriously thoughtful look on his face. Inuyasha never looked thoughtful, so it was rather weird for me to see.   
  
When we got back to the beach house, the first person we saw sitting on the front step was Miroku. He was supporting a red mark on his face, meaning he probably unintentionally pissed Sango off. Probably from groping her, or something. I sighed and shook my head, turning to make a teasing comment to my black hair friend, when Inuyasha hurried ahead of me to Miroku's side. He leaned down and whispered something into the surprised boy's ear.   
  
To my horror, Miroku grinned, then started to laugh. I mean, really laugh. He looked at me, then just laughed harder.   
  
Okay, so I was starting to get offended. Bear with me, here. It isn't fun when one of your best friends just looked at you and started cracking up. I frowned, then looked down at my bathing suit to make sure everything was still there, then looked over my shoulder to see if I sat on anything. Miroku continued to laugh, and soon Inuyasha started to laugh lightly, too.   
  
My frown was replaced by a scowl. "What?! Do I have something on my face?"   
  
That caused them to laugh harder, and I clenched my fists to my side. "Hey!"   
  
Miroku was the first to compose himself. He stood up and brushed the sand off his clothing, before moving over to me. I almost died with surprise when he reached down and took both my hands, holding them up.   
  
"Mi… Miroku! What are you doing?!"   
  
"Kekki…"   
  
"Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"   
  
Miroku's face split into a grin. I took a step back.   
  
"Are you a kleptomaniac, or did you steal my heart on purpose?"   
  
"Wh-what?! Miroku! That was so awful!" I could feel my cheeks start to redden, and Inuyasha nudged Miroku out of the way.   
  
"Mmm, girl, your mom must be a baker, because you've got some nice buns!"   
  
Okay, now my face AND my ears were bright red. "Inu.. INUYASHA!"   
  
He laughed and jumped back, just in time to dodge a fist that was aimed at his stomach. Miroku took his place, and I took a quick step back.   
  
"If you.. If you say another stupid line.."   
  
"No, no! I promise, this isn't a pick-up line. I just have another question…"   
  
"If you ask me to bear your children…"   
  
"I have more class than that." His grin widened. "Hey, Keks. Do you sleep on your stomach?"   
  
I looked at him skeptically. "No. Why?"   
  
"Can I?"   
  
"MIROKU!!"   
  
"Oi, Miroku!" Inuyasha called, starting to laugh again. "She's gunna blow!"   
  
Miroku snickered and turned around, running quickly back to the safe haven of his home, Inuyasha right at his ankles.   
  
Now, would _you_ let someone get away with something like that? That's right, I didn't think so. Of _course_ I gave chase, yelling obscenities at their bare backs.   
  
Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at me, nearly doubled over from laughing. "Hey, Kekki?"   
  
"What?!"   
  
"Are those real?"   
  
"INU~YAAAAAASHAAAAA!"   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Fourteen: Pick Me Up  
By Clara

  
  
Eventually, I did catch up with them and was able to leave them with some rather nasty bumps on their heads and several bruises. They cracked up the entire time, though, which didn't make my vengeance feel very satisfying.   
  
After 'successfully' beating my friends up, I sat next to Sango on the couch, back straight and hands on my lap. I probably looked like the picture of fury, but that was okay with me.   
  
Sango had heard and seen the entire thing, but she barely even react. Hell, all she did when I beat her almost-boyfriend and Inuyasha on the head with some sort of dictionary like book was sip her iced tea and watch with her head resting on her palm. I did manage to get a grin out of her when I started calling them crude names in various different languages.   
  
"Relieved?" Sango asked as I leaned against the cushions. I shot her a grin.   
  
"Yeah. That was fun."   
  
"I bet." Sango took another sip from her iced tea, then glanced at Inuyasha and Miroku, who were crumpled on the ground and muttering some very choice words about violent girls. They both still looked amused, though, which only caused me to huff more.   
  
We sat (well, Inuyasha and Miroku were lying down) like that for awhile, Sango idly sipping her drink with her eyes closed and me calming down with the silence. It had felt good to run around like that, though..   
  
Miroku looked remorsefully up at me from the ground. "All those curves, and no brakes.."   
  
I threw my shoe at him. It hit him square on the forehead, and he and Inuyasha started snickering all over again. My other shoe ended up bouncing off the back of Inuyasha's head.   
  
"Ow! Hey, you jerk, I didn't say anything!"   
  
"You were the one who gave Miroku the idea!" I shot him a sulky look, which he returned with a impertinent smirk.   
  
Kouga took that moment to walk in, clad in a pair of dark blue swim trunks and a towel around his shoulders. He was holding a tube of sunscreen. "Yo."   
  
"Hey, Kouga," I responded, leaning back against the cushions.   
  
"What happened to Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum?"   
  
Sango half grinned. "They decided to use a couple of stupid pick-up lines on Kekki, and she... responded violently."   
  
"Oh." Kouga blinked, then grinned. "Hey, Kekki. Is it hot in here, or is it just you?"   
  
I threw a pillow in his face.   
  
*   
  
"Too bad the rest of the team isn't here," Miroku commented as he rubbed some sunscreen onto his shoulders.   
  
"So they can improve their skills, right?" I asked, finishing my stretching exercises. Inuyasha had given us five minutes to get ready to train, which didn't really mean anything. We spent the entirety of it stretching and putting on sunscreen and whatnot. It wasn't as if we brought our gloves and balls along with us. I mean, we all ate, breathed, and slept baseball, but that was usually just during the season. Not during break. _Definitely_ not at the beach.   
  
"Feh. Yeah, right," Miroku snorted, rolling his shoulders. Sango moved up beside him. She liked the thought of working out with the boys, since lacrosse season was going to start soon. In fact, the only person who wouldn't be training was Kikyo. I wondered where she was, since she seemed to have just disappeared after I left to the beach. "I'm only saying that because," Miroku continued, breaking me out of my thoughts, "they should suffer like we do."   
  
"That's very Zen of you, Miroku," Sango said, rolling her eyes. She tied one of the homemade leg weights around her ankle.   
  
"Damn right I'm Zen," he retorted, grabbing the other leg weight before she could and wrapping it around his own ankle. "I am completely one with myself, and all that."   
  
She conked him on the head with a rather impressive looking staff that I had never seen before. He yelped and rubbed the new bump she gave him, then straightened up and glared at both of us. "At this rate, brats, you're going to leave me brain damaged." He walked off with the air of an offended-old-lady.   
  
I found this quite humorous. Sango did too. We let this be known quite loudly.   
  
Don't get me wrong, though. Inuyasha got his revenge on me for beating him and Miroku up quite soundly. He had very clever ways of torturing not only me, but anyone who decided to train with him. I was beginning to realize why Kikyo didn't wait around.   
  
"Hey! Kekki! Eiji! You're falling behind!" Inuyasha called from over his shoulder.   
  
Damn him.   
  
Running in sand is hard enough. Anyone who's been on a beach knows that well enough. Sand does not do a good job at supporting your weight and sinks when it's dry enough (hell, even when it's wet), causing you to have to bring your legs up high enough to avoid tripping and falling.   
  
It's a complete pain in the ass when you have ten pound leg weights on each leg. By the time we finished a quarter mile, I thought I was going to die.   
  
"Inuyasha!" Kouga grumbled from behind the other boy. He wasn't having much trouble keeping up with him, but he was sweating a lot. "You're insane, you know that? It's like, ninety-plus degrees out here, the sand's hot, and you're making us run?" Miroku was at Kouga's side, and Sango was a couple feet behind them. I was running just a bit faster than Eiji, which made me feel absurdly pleased with myself.   
  
That didn't say much, though, since we were several feet behind Inuyasha. I was feeling just a bit inadequate here, let me tell you. It made me thankful I didn't come as 'Kagome'. I would have died of embarrassment, surely.   
  
He didn't let us take a break until about a mile and a half. It felt like a hundred miles though, and I let this be known by nearly falling over. I didn't, though, not just because I didn't want to look bad in front of Inuyasha and the others. Sand and sweat just do NOT mix.   
  
"Okay, guys!" Inuyasha clapped after around five minutes. "Let's go before we get all relaxed again!" He jumped to his feet and grinned easily at us. Several groans chorused from the group, but we all sluggishly got back to our feet.   
  
I didn't know where he got all that damn energy, but I wanted it.   
  
*   
  
By the time we stopped running and convinced Inuyasha to let us go back to the beach house, I felt like a walking zombie. No kidding. My legs were on fire and felt like they were going to collapse from beneath me at any moment, I was more than a little dehydrated, and I was breathing much faster than normal. I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.   
  
We all took a dip into the ocean after we regained our breath and our heart rates dropped back to normal (and after stretching, of course. Duh), only going in far enough for the water to reach our midsections. Luckily, the ocean was rather calm that day and I didn't have to worry about any waves knocking me over. I don't think I would have been able to get back up again.   
  
"I don't think this is good for our systems," Sango commented as I dunked my head under water. I flung my short hair back, for once thankful for its length. Running with long hair was a pain. "Running as much as we did in weather this hot, then going into water this cold… isn't that unhealthy?"   
  
"I don't know," I breathed contently, running my fingers through my hair and slicking it back. It spiked in the front where it was shortest, probably making me look funny. Or at least interesting. "But it feels almost sinful."   
  
She cracked a grin at that and started to walk back to the shore. "You know, we didn't bring large enough towels to dry ourselves off.."   
  
I pointed silently up at the sun.   
  
"Well, that works. I just hate getting sand on my feet when I'm wet."   
  
I nodded and followed after her, rather shakily. My legs felt a lot lighter than they should, and it still felt as if I was running. I sighed and started to stretch again, after getting back onto 'solid' land. The others were doing the same as me.   
  
Best not tear a ligament or something, hm?   
  
"Oi, Kekki!" Inuyasha called. I looked up from touching my toes. "You did put on sunscreen, right?"   
  
"Yeah. I'm not stupid, or anything.." I frowned at him. He frowned back and stood up, moving beside me.   
  
I took a step back. I had the feeling he was going to spout another cheesy pick-up line at me, but..   
  
..all he did was lightly slap me on the back.   
  
"AAAAGH!" I jumped a good foot, hands flying to my face. "OWOWOWOW!"   
  
The others looked up at my cry, and I started dancing around in pain. I'm not sure where I got the energy from.   
  
"Man, Kekki, you look like a lobster! What kind of sunscreen did you use?"   
  
I scowled after I finished dancing, then reached over into the small bag I had been carrying around with me for just in case. I pulled out my tube of sunscreen and tossed it to Inuyasha, who caught it easily. He looked at the tube, then looked back up at me. His eyes were dancing.   
  
"Sunscreen, hm?" He turned the tube around so I could see the label.   
  
Sun oil.   
  
"DAMNIT!"   
  
*   
  
We made our way back to beach house after that, me muttering some very crude words and lagging behind everyone. Ever since Inuyasha let it be known that I was burnt as all hell, I was hurting. Badly. I hated sunburns. They always made me feel as if my entire body was on fire or something. Not only that, but they left rather interesting 'tan'-lines.   
  
Thankfully, though, Sango had some Aloe Vera back at Miroku's. At least I didn't have to have that stupid sunburn for too long.   
  
Inuyasha, who had been in the front, noticed I was falling behind. I saw concern flash across his face and he fell in step beside me.   
  
"Hey, Kekki. You all right, there?"   
  
I gave him a small nod and an even smaller smile. "It's nothing much. My legs are just weird feeling."   
  
He still looked concerned, and I could feel my face grow hot under his gaze. As if he could even tell if I was blushing or not. That was the only thing this stupid burn was good for.   
  
"Hey, now, you don't have to come with us tomorrow when we run again. I mean, since you don't seem you can handle it…"   
  
"HA!" If anything could get my adrenaline running, it was something like _that_ being said to me. I mean, hey, it's not as if I was _completely_ out of shape. I had never done anything like _that_ before, though. Affronted, I quickened my pace until I was next to Kouga. He glanced at me, then gave me a grin.   
  
"Hey there, pretty lady."   
  
I blushed again. "Yeah, pretty lady who looks like a lobster right now," I grumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Inuyasha walk quickly back to his original place. He was staring straight ahead, and I could almost feel the waves of displeasure coming off him. Hoo boy.   
  
"Eh, you'll always look gorgeous to me," Kouga said, smiling. I could feel my cheeks redden more. Inuyasha was now periodically throwing dirty looks at us from over his shoulder and I started to feel guilty. Or two-timing. Or something like that. "You okay? Leave it to Inu to not think ahead…"   
  
I looked ahead at Inuyasha. His back was to us again, this time completely tense. Yes, he had very, very nice muscles…   
  
…but he was sulking, and I felt guilty.   
  
"I'll be fine." I flashed Kouga a charming smile, then hurried over towards Inuyasha.   
  
Unfortunately, my foot caught.   
  
"Eek!"   
  
I fell gracelessly onto my stomach, 'oof'ing when I landed rather roughly.   
  
"Owowowowow," I hissed, closing my eyes. Thankfully, the others didn't laugh. I think they were too concerned to laugh, since I had a feeling my ankle was twisted in a funny way. It sure felt like it was.   
  
To my surprise, though, a pair of strong arms lifted me up. I blinked my eyes open, surprised and looked up.   
  
Inuyasha continued to walk steadfastly towards the beach house, carrying me. I could feel myself blush again, but instead of saying anything, I just leaned my head against his chest.   
  
Oh, yeah, I was getting it bad.   
  
*   
  
"OWWWWWWWW!"   
  
"Hey now, girl, quiet down," Sango ordered. We were in our room sitting on the floor. I was sitting in front of Sango, who was currently applying Aloe Vera on my scorched back.   
  
"It hurts!" I whined, squirming a bit.   
  
"Quit moving, stupid!" Sango admonished.   
  
I threw her a glare over my shoulder, then turned to look fixatedly ahead again. The Aloe Vera did feel cool and relaxing against my back, sure, but I swear she was putting it on too roughly.   
  
"What a way to relax," I grumbled, looking out the window. It was a nice, big window, and I could see the sun just starting to sink. "I was seriously hoping I could learn how to surf."   
  
"Well, getting back into shape is important, too." Sango said, closing the Aloe Vera with a snap. "There, you're all finished."   
  
"Thanks." I stood up and stretched my arms way above my head, cracking my back in the process. "Mm, well, twisting my ankle and getting burnt as all hell usually aren't included in training."   
  
"_Your_ training, that is. Wait til Inuyasha decides to take us 'hiking'."   
  
I looked over at her worriedly, pulling on a loose shirt. I wasn't about to get more burnt, even though the sunset was starting.   
  
"Fantastic," I grumbled. "Hey, I'm going to go watch the sunset, okay?"   
  
Sango nodded. "I need to talk to Miroku, anyway."   
  
"Talk," I asked, "or _talk_?"   
  
Sango smacked me upside the head. "I swear, Miroku has corrupted you."   
  
I chuckled and walked towards the door. "See you in a bit, Sango."   
  
I hobbled down the stairs, partially from the fact that my legs were sore as hell, and partially from the fact that the ankle I twisted still hurt a bit. Miroku, though, the friend that he is, met me at the bottom of the stairs.   
  
"You okay there, Kekki?" He wasn't taking any chances, thankfully.   
  
"I'll manage. Sango was looking for you, by the way."   
  
He nodded, then handed me something. I nearly dropped it from surprise.   
  
"Where did you get weights?"   
  
"We're an odd family," Miroku shrugged. "Where are you heading?"   
  
"Just gunna watch the sunset," I grumbled, starting to lift the weight with one hand. Yay. I got to be sore all over tonight!   
  
Miroku nodded, then cracked a grin. "Inuyasha also ordered us to do one hundred sit ups tonight. Think you're up to it?"   
  
"Inuyasha's insane," was my answer as I headed to the door. I have a feeling he nodded in response, but since I couldn't see him I wouldn't know.   
  
It was thankfully cool outside, and the sky was bright with several different colors. I sighed with relief and sat on the step next to the other person claiming it.   
  
"Hey, Yuka," I greeted, still lifting the ten pound weight up and down with my right arm. "How'd you find us?" I switched to my left arm after forty.   
  
"It wasn't that hard," Yuka answered. She didn't look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the sky. "Your friends were creating holy hell in the front here, earlier. Or at least two of them. I saw you at the dance with them, so I figured you'd be staying here too. When I asked, the boy nodded, then asked me out on a date."   
  
I snorted at that. "I see you've met Miroku."   
  
"Is he _really_ that desperate?"   
  
Come to think of it…   
  
"Well, no." I blinked. "I don't know why he acts like that, actually. He's… unofficially going out with Sango, another friend of ours." I looked up at the sky. Reds and oranges were clashing together over a light blue, streaming across the sky and highlighting every cloud in its way. Okay, so I was feeling kind of poetic. "What brought you here, though, aside from wanting to hang out with me?"   
  
Yuka sighed, folding her arms on her lap. "Well, I'm staying the night here, too, so I figured I would come and see you."   
  
I blinked. "You are? I thought this was just a day thing?"   
  
"Nah." She sighed again. "One of them has a house up here. Kagura, I think Hiten said her name was?" She frowned. "Well, anyway, I couldn't exactly be around them anymore. They're rather… stuck up."   
  
I grimaced and nodded, all at once feeling guilty for sticking that kind of responsibility on Yuka. "Ah, Yuka.."   
  
"Hey, before you go on and apologize, don't worry about it. You would have done the same thing for me." Her frown vanished and was replaced by a nice smile. "Hiten really isn't that bad when we're alone. It's only when we're with his friends do I feel like a… a prize or something." She leaned back on the palms of her hands, tilting her head to look at the entire sky. "I could almost say I like him."   
  
"Like him?" I repeated, incredulous. Sure, the boy was attractive, but…   
  
Well, the horror stories I've almost heard about him!   
  
Okay, so that sounded kind of funny even to me.   
  
"Not romantically!" Yuka hurried. "I just… I just sometimes get the feeling that he's never been in a relationship like the one he is in with me before. We fight over the stupidest things, and sometimes I totally change my opinion just so we can debate about it. I don't know. It's.. well, it's fun."   
  
I blinked. That kind of sounded familiar.   
  
My attention was caught by someone walking up to us. The look on Hiten's face let me know he had been listening for awhile.   
  
Yuka didn't notice him, though, and continued. "I don't know. I'm so confused. Even though I know he isn't the most.. trustworthy guy, I somehow get the feeling he wouldn't do anything to harm me or anything, you know?" She smiled a bit. "It's probably just a stupid hope, anyway. Don't mind me, Kiki, I'm just babbling."   
  
"Kekki," I corrected quietly, watching as Hiten stopped again, looking at Yuka with a peculiar look on his face. He didn't look mad or anything… just lost.   
  
"He isn't anything like Ryo, who used to shower me with presents and compliments and all that kind of mushy stuff. I kind of like it. Not being smothered to death, you know." She looked at me and cracked a grin. "I even feel kind of jealous when he looks at other girls."   
  
Hiten reacted to that. His mouth opened a bit, almost as if to form a protest, before remembering that she didn't know he was there.   
  
"So you think you wanna still see him after the month is over?"   
  
"I think… I think I might." She grinned a bit, looking back up at the sky. She still hadn't noticed him, somehow.   
  
Hiten _definitely_ reacted to that. He took a step forward, paused, then took another step forward.   
  
"Hey, Yuka!" he called as if he hadn't been there to hear everything. I crossed my bear legs in front of me, still lifting the weight methodically up and down.   
  
Yuka started, then looked up quickly at Hiten. She blushed for a fraction of a second. "Whaddya want?!"   
  
"Your sexy, sexy body?" his voice was teasing, and I blinked. That was something Miroku would say, not Hiten.   
  
"Stupid," Yuka growled back, throwing her sandal at him. He laughed and caught it.   
  
"Come on. We're going out to dinner. You can talk to your transvestite friend later."   
  
Yuka's other shoe clubbed him square on the face. I was the one to throw it this time.   
  
"I hope you get eaten by a shark!" I shouted at him as Yuka hurried to retrieve her shoes. Hiten chuckled and rubbed his nose.   
  
"Maybe you should be pitcher. Your aim is dead on."   
  
I blinked. That was the first time Hiten said anything remotely nice to me.   
  
"Yeah, yeah," Yuka grumbled, bending down to put her sandals back on. "Come on, I'm hungry. You're paying, right?"   
  
"Of course," he sighed. "I don't think you'd eat if you had to pay."   
  
"Not with you, at least." She flashed him a catty grin, as if to say 'oh! In your face! Point for me, Thunder-boy!' I laughed quietly.   
  
"See you, Sekki!" Yuka called, waving at me.   
  
"That's _Kekki_!"   
  
Hiten laughed and waved too. "Nice burn you've got there, by the way."   
  
With those sweet parting words, the two hurried off. I grinned a bit and put the weight down, watching as the last rays of sunlight darted across the sky.   
  
It almost looked as if Yuka was falling as fast as I was.   
  
I just hoped she was falling for the right guy.   
  
.:end chapter fourteen:.   
  
Oi! I didn't reveal Inuyasha's and Kikyo's secrets! Ha, sorry about that. Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough! ^___^   
  
Oh, and for you Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken fans (not all together, you perverts), they're going to appear in chapter sixteen or at the end of chapter fifteen. Ha! I'm actually planning ahead! 


	15. Welcome to the Jungle

*rubs the back of her head sheepishly* Wow.. um.. I really apologize for this long time span between updates.. I've been going through a lot lately (this usually is a very unacceptable excuse, and I apologize for it), but I promise to get my rear back into gear. I do realize people lose interest or forget what the story's about when there's a long time space between chapters, so I want to especially thank those who have managed to stay interested these past couple of months, and want to promise (again -_-;) not to put such a big gap between chapters. Also, thank you to all for reviewing my fic, and once again I apologize. *thousands of bows*   
  
Actually, I got myself in a problem. Originally, I had planned to have Rin older.. a year younger than Kagome and the gang. However, when I was looking through my old chapters, I realized that I made Rin a friend of the kiddies, and that wouldn't do at all. Unfortunately, an older Rin is imperative to my plot. I NEED her older. So, I apologize for my poor planning ahead of time and hope you can look over my ghastly mistake. I'll just have to.. you know.. improvise a bit. There can be TWO Rin's, all right? >_>   
  
Hey! PEOPLE! School Daze is over a year old! *breaks out the champagne and party hats and cake* It celebrated it's first birthday January 17th! Woohoo! *throws confetti and blows party whistles*   
  
*   
  
Our little break didn't last as long as I wanted it to. In fact, it was over ridiculously quick, and we were back to our boring (boring!) every day lives. Only, this time I was stuck with a huge predicament, concerning the fact that 'Kekki' was bright red and 'Kagome' wasn't supposed to be.   
  
After we got back from that damned beach, I forced my 'dear' friends Sango and Miroku over to my house against their wills. They were both exhausted from the grueling weekend. I was spared from the rest of the training, though, as I could barely walk and I resembled an overcooked lobster.   
  
"What am I supposed to do?!" I whined for about the billionth time that night, pacing in the same path I had paced a million times before. I think I was starting to wear out my grandfather's carpet.   
  
"Well, you _could_ let us go home," Miroku said, idly watching as Buyo got himself stuck behind the television. He waggled his fat legs and meowed helplessly at Miroku, who just laughed. "You need to put your cat on a diet, Kagome."   
  
I shot a withering glare that was probably not very intimidating, considering the fact I was stop sign red on my cheeks, shoulders, and neck.   
  
"Diet is just 'die' with a 't' at the end," Sango quipped idly, then sighed. "Truthfully, Kagome, I have been thinking about your problem. The only solution I could come up with was a healthy dose of Aloe Vera and an even healthier dose of make-up."   
  
I grimaced, then sat down heavily on the floor. "I don't have any other choice, do I?" "Not one. But don't worry, if we put the make-up on right, no one will be able to tell."   
  
"..Can't I just take a month off of school?"   
  
"Yeah, right." Sango rolled her eyes, then fished around in her purse for a moment. "Here. You and me have the same skin color, since knowing you, you don't own any make-up." She slid off of my couch and kneeled in front of me, then started smearing make-up all over my face. I grimaced, not liking the feeling it left on my skin. She had guessed correctly—I hated make-up and never wore it unless forced to. In fact, all the make-up I owned was a tube of lipgloss and a stubbed up pencil of eyeliner.   
  
After a few moments of her masking my face and neck with the disgusting goop, she sat back and admired her work. "You know, I should take up a profession as a make-up artist," Sango said thoughtfully. I grinned and scrambled to my feet, looking at my reflection on the screen of the TV. Of course, that didn't provide a very helpful image, but it was good enough.   
  
"Jeez, Sango, I owe you," I exclaimed, reaching up and touching my cheek as I moved to look at my discombobulated reflection in a drawer handle. She really had done a wonderful job.. someone would have to stick their face practically against mine to be able to see that I was wearing make-up.   
  
"That'll be ten bucks for the make-up," Sango said, placing the container on the table. I choked, then started coughing.   
  
"Are you kidding me?! Sango, I'm supposed to be your friend!" I sputtered.   
  
Sango regarded me with a dispassionate look, then shrugged. "This make-up cost twenty-five bucks. You're my friend, but I don't love you THAT much. Take it or leave it."   
  
I grimaced, then sighed. I had no other choice. "You're a terrible girl, Sango.." I grumbled, fishing the money out of my pocket and tossing it at her.   
  
She just cracked a grin.   
  
Buyo made a pitiful sound and flopped over on his obese stomach, giving up. I was beginning to feel a little like he did. Stuck. And money was quickly becoming a thing of the past for me.   
  


**School Daze**  
Chapter Fifteen: Welcome to the Jungle  
by Clara

  
  
School started again uneventfully. As usual, I got woken up by an over enthusiastic Hojou, freaked out, and ended up having a couple of hours before class started again. I don't think that'll ever change.   
  
History was.. well.. as boring as usual, aside from Professor Myoga's height problem. I've been going to this school for awhile now, and for some reason that still amused me. Vertically challenged people were fun. I swear, I paid more attention to his shortness than I did to him rambling on about the Stamp Act and how it was significant to America's independence. What did I care about that, anyway?   
  
In fact, the only thing different about History was Inuyasha. After drawing my usual conclusion about how Professor Myoga was hilariously short, I realized that my black haired friend was unusually broody that morning. He was staring straight ahead with an air of indigence around him, and it suddenly struck me that he hadn't even said hi to me this morning. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't offended, per se, I was just a little surprised. I was, after all, a good friend of his.   
  
Finally, curiosity overwhelmed the fear of getting caught passing notes in class, and I flicked a paper football at him that asked what was up when Professor Myoga wasn't looking. Inuyasha caught it on reflex and unfolded the letter, then read it quickly. He glanced at me, then waited for Professor Myoga to turn around again before scribbling down his reply and surreptitiously flicking it back at me.   
  
'My brother was missing this morning,' it read. The next word was scribbled out beyond recognition, then it continued. 'Normally, I'm not worried about him, but it's not like him to get up before six unless he has work. I know he didn't sneak out of anything, since he sucks at getting past my mom, so that means he left early this morning. When I tried asking Mom, she just gave me this secretive little smile and told me to go to school before I was late.'   
  
I paused, surprised. Inuyasha usually came home Sunday night like the rest of us, not early Monday morning. I briefly wondered why he stayed home all Sunday, then concluded it probably had something to do with his mom.   
  
I shrugged and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring look, then tucked the letter into my pocket. I already had one Saturday detention that I was going to have to serve this Saturday, Lord knew I didn't need another.   
  
History ended rather quickly, surprisingly, since it was one of the most boring classes I had. I think the only other class that rivaled its boringness was Physics, and that's only because we had the teacher with the worst case of burn out I've ever seen. I have a theory about teachers. Once they've been teaching for a certain amount of years, they fizzle out like an over-smoked cigarette. Everyone's had one of these teachers at least once—the kind whose fashion sense belongs to the last century and speak in a low, monotonous drone the entire thirty-five to forty-five minutes. This kind of teacher probably taught your parents, or even your parents' parents, before you.   
  
Of course, burned out teachers are also the ones who give out killer tests.   
  
But enough rambling. Exciting stuff happened _way_ before Physics. To be more precise, during P.E.   
  
I was kind of nervous about P.E., actually. P.E. required physical exertion of the human body, which, of course, led to sweat. I had done an impeccable job of putting on the make-up this morning, but I did not want to deal with sweat tracks, even though it was only Inuyasha I was worried about finding out I had a sunburn. It was ironic, though, since he was there when I got it.   
  
I worried needlessly, though, since the person standing in front of the room drew any attention he might have had for me away.   
  
"Hello, class," a smooth, rich, and decidedly familiar voice cut through the air like a sharp knife. I blinked in surprise, then dropped my jaw to the floor. Inuyasha was already staring at the man with saucer eyes.   
  
"My name is Sesshomaru." Inuyasha's older brother flipped his bangs from his eyes and gave a charming smile. "Welcome."   
  
Have you ever read a book where a chapter left you with a really tense cliffhanger? Or a TV show that suddenly broke into commercial right after a suspenseful and very unfinished event happened? Now, have you ever had something in real life that felt like it was a cliffhanger? I was experiencing this strange phenomenon at that very moment.   
  
I think it's just because Inuyasha and his family (well, from what I know about them), have a flair for the dramatic.   
  
"S-S.." Inuyasha tried after a few moments. His vocal chords seemed to have stopped working on him.   
  
Almost everyone in the class was watching with interest now. I guess it was a rare occasion to see the mighty Inuyasha look flustered, especially since he was considered one of the Untouchables in rating between popularity and unpopularity.   
  
I have a theory on the Popular, the Unpopular, and the Untouchables. I seem to have a lot of theories lately (mostly because being a girl at an all boy school is quickly changing my views in life), so I'll save that one for later. Let's just say, for now, Inuyasha is definitely an Untouchable.   
  
"S.. Sess.."   
  
Really, he was reminding me of that kid from Billy Madison now. I was almost tempted to say..   
  
"T-t-t-t-t'day, Junior!" That, of course, got me a whack upside the head, courtesy of Inuyasha. I rubbed the back of my skull and managed a half-hearted glare, even though I was snickering. At least I snapped him out of his stupor.   
  
"SESSHOMARU?!" he finally managed, startling the part of the class that wasn't paying attention. Sesshomaru just grinned a detached little grin.   
  
"I'm glad you finally realized who I am, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said idly.   
  
Now, you realize, when you go to a nondescript all boy school, little dramatic soap opera-ish things attract _everyone's_ attentions. Picture this. Inuyasha, a semi-popular troublemaker ends up slowly entering the gym with one of his good friends, joking around and having the time of his life. Cue in the cheesy drama-dread music. Suddenly, the lights flash onto.. none other than.. Sesshomaru!   
  
..Okay. So I've been watching too much Passions. Sue me. But trust me, that's the way everyone was watching the interaction between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. I was just waiting for someone to whip out a bag of popcorn.   
  
"What the HELL are you doing here?!" Inuyasha burst out. I was proud of him. It was the first full sentence he managed after sputtering indignantly for a good five minutes.   
  
"Watch it, Inu," Sesshomaru said idly. He was still grinning aloofly. "I'm a teacher now, and there's rules about cursing." Inuyasha grimaced, and for a moment I could almost hear him grinding his teeth together. "And, since you asked so nicely, I suppose it IS time for me to explain to the class why I'm here instead of Miss Okiku. She was actually offered a different job coaching a professional girl's soccer team and she would have been unable to do the two jobs at once. I suppose coaching that team was her dream, though, because she dropped this stable job in order to take that one.   
  
"So," he continued, not moving from his place. I actually expected him to start pacing all self-importantly, since he gave off the air of someone who thought very high of himself. He, to my surprise, didn't. "They needed a replacement. Of course, since it's nearly impossible to find someone in such a short notice, they were forced to find a temporary P.E. teacher. In other words, me." He turned his gaze back to Inuyasha, and his smirk widened.   
  
"You can close your mouth now, Inu." Like a puppet, Inuyasha's mouth snapped shut. I could swear I could hear his teeth click together. "Not to worry, it's only temporary."   
  
For a few moments, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru amused themselves by glaring at each other. Then the younger of the two let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl and stomped off towards the changing rooms, leaving me behind. I think I was too stunned to go after him at that moment.   
  
Or I was worried about getting distracted by his sexy, now tan, back. You know, whichever.   
  
Unfortunately, Inuyasha's personal fanboy, Riiko, decided to pounce on me the moment Inuyasha was out of sight.   
  
"KAGOME!" he shouted, even though he had already practically shoved his face against mine. I took a hasty step back in surprise. "Who is that?! How does he know Inuyasha?!"   
  
"Woah, woah, woah, Riiko.." I put my hands up in self-defense and took a half step back. I shifted my eyes to Sesshomaru.   
  
"Ask Inu," I said finally, then took a step away from Riiko. I knew he looked peeved, even without looking at him. Of course he didn't want to ask Inuyasha. That's why he jumped on me. It wasn't my business to tell, though.   
  
Besides, I had more important things to do.   
  
"Hey, Sesshomaru," I said idly, folding my hands behind my head. Damn straight I was going to go for the innocent look.   
  
Sesshomaru, however, didn't buy into it at once, and shifted a pair of cool eyes toward me. He tilted his head to the side. "You're not dressed yet."   
  
I ignored his comment self-righteously. "How did you get the job?"   
  
He examined me with shrewd eyes, then grinned slightly. "I attended this school too, a couple years ago. Of course I excelled in P.E. and sports, so when your teacher quit, they looked to me."   
  
I gave him my shrewd, 'you-better-not-be-lying-to-me-because-I-really-have-secret-super-powers!' look, then shrugged and turned around to follow Inuyasha's path. His answer was good enough for me.   
  
Oh, by the way, don't get me wrong. I really _don't_ have secret powers or anything cool like that. Yeah, I wish. And Miroku lives up to his last name.   
  
*   
  
"WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!" was the greeting I got when I entered the boy's changing room. Yes, believe me, I still get weirded out when I see the little man standing on the door above the word 'MEN'. Too many times have I found myself backtracking before realizing that, yes, I was supposed to go pee in a urinal, cuz that's what boy's do.   
  
Ha. Reeeeal funny. I'll let you come up with your own mental images of _me_ trying to urinate in a urinal.   
  
Anyway, back to my long-haired friend. Now, this guy knows how to torture people. Let's just say he decided to throw a tantrum _shirtless_. Excuse me while I go mop up my own puddle of drool..   
  
"Who the HELL would want to come back here after they graduated?!" Inuyasha roared, presumably at me. Actually, he was pacing so much that I couldn't tell if it was at me or at the wall. Damn those walls.   
  
"Um, Inuyasha?" I asked meekly to his back. Have I mentioned how nice his back was?   
  
"What?"   
  
Snappy. Ooo, he's got a scary glare.   
  
"I thought you and your brother were.. yanno.. close?" Unconsciously, I reached back and scratched my neck. You know, subconscious comfort. Ahh, the joys of psychology..   
  
"Close? _Close?!_ We're not _close_. Friends are close! Couples are close! Doors close! Agh! What the hell am I talking about?!" He yanked on his hair in frustration.   
  
"Woah, pal, breathe.."   
  
"I'm breathing, I'm breathing.." He stopped his rampant pacing and did these little yoga-meditation exercises that apparently calmed him down.   
  
"There we go," I said in my therapist-soothing voice. "Now, what's troubling you?"   
  
Inuyasha shot me this look that could freeze fire. "Thank you, Hannibal Lector."   
  
"You're the one who looks like he's about to start eating my brains." I smirked at him, shoving my hands into my pockets. Ah, another unconscious form of comfort.   
  
Of course he ignored me in favor of sitting heavily on the bench. He sat like every guy I knew sat—slouched, wrists on his lower thighs, hands lax and inward, and wearing a look that says 'I could give a damn?'. Well, actually, it was more like, 'I hate the world right now, and it's all your fault'. Boys.   
  
"Sesshomaru always has to show me up," Inuyasha grumbled. Now he's in his 'let's-tell-an-almost-stranger-all-my-woes-since-they-won't-give-me-any-of-that-'it's-okay'-bullshit' mood.   
  
..Does anyone else think I could start a book on Inuyasha-ness yet?   
  
"I mean, like, even when we were younger. I would bring home a report that I got an 'A' on, the next day he would bring home a report that he got an 'A+' on. I get a trophy, he gets a trophy twice as big as mine. I become team captain, he becomes player of the year.."   
  
I gave Inuyasha a dry look. Okay, was it just me or was Inuyasha taking the whole 'sibling-rivalry-jealousy' thing a little too far?   
  
"Don't look at me like that," Inuyasha snarled, reading my mind. He got up and started to pace again. "I know I sound stupid and jealous and like I'm totally overreacting, but it's always been like that. I thought I would be out of his stupid shadow after he graduated!"   
  
I gave him my best sympathetic look and reached over to pat his shoulder. No, you jerks, it wasn't just an excuse to touch his shoulder. "Look, Inu, it's not going to be for a long time.. just until they can find a new teacher. Besides, that what he is right now. A teacher. It's not like he can show you up in anything.."   
  
Maybe I wasn't as affected by this because Souta was so much younger than me and I've never had the chance to be the victim of sibling rivalry. Maybe it was also because I was the older one and not the younger one.   
  
..Maybe I need to stop obsessing over psychology, as fun as it was. Christ, pretty soon I was going to start diagnosing everyone with every disorder. I mean, it was totally obvious that Inuyasha had a borderline personality disorder.   
  
..Please, please don't quote me on that.   
  
"That's not the point!" he cried after much thinking and spun around on me. My, his chest was just as nice as his back.. "The point is, now that he's here, watching everything I do, he can comment on it! Tell me everything I'm doing wrong!"   
  
I smirked at him and shook my head. "Okay, Inu, now you really are just overreacting."   
  
He flipped me the bird and I just laughed, walking into one of the dressing stalls.   
  
*   
  
"Inuyasha, your stance is all wrong. Stand like this."   
  
The said character grit his teeth, adjusted himself, then looked at Sesshomaru scathingly.   
  
"Well, now you're all tense. Relax. It will make your movements smoother."   
  
I could practically hear his teeth grind together.   
  
"Inuyasha, you're doing it all wrong now. You _know_ better than that. What would father say?"   
  
I think that was Sesshomaru's new favorite phrase.   
  
"Inuyasha.."   
  
"Inuyasha!"   
  
"INUYASHA!"   
  
..I have never seen someone run as fast as Inuyasha did out of a room when the bell rang.   
  
"See?! SEE! What did I tell you?!" my poor rattled friend growled as we walked to homeroom. His face was flushed and he looked almost ready to kill someone, which would explain why several of the younger classmen steered clear from his path. Some of them looked almost as if him storming through the halls like a madman was an everyday occurrence.   
  
"Okay, okay, you win," I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. Unlike Inuyasha, I had taken my time to change out of my P.E. uniform before fleeing. He was waiting for me behind a drinking fountain like the big, brave boy he was.   
  
"I must say, though, I've never seen anyone with such great self-restraint. You looked like you were about to deck him any minute."   
  
"I was," Inuyasha growled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "The only thing that stopped me was that I knew he would have loooooved to give me a detention. I wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction."   
  
"I don't get it. You two seemed.." I caught myself before I finished my sentence and nearly clapped my hands over my mouth. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! "I mean, Kekki said you two seemed cool when he came over to pick you up that.. one time.."   
  
Thank GOD Inuyasha was distracted, or I swear he would have found me out at that moment. I think my heart stopped beating for a moment, there..   
  
Inuyasha shrugged. "Brothers get closer when parents decide to divorce."   
  
"So what changed?"   
  
"He remembered that he was only my half-brother."   
  
And people say girls are confusing.   
  
I stopped in front of my homeroom door and grabbed the handle. "Riiiiiight," I said. "Well, just.. I don't know, tell him to suck off."   
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and continued walking down the hall. "Uh huh. And get my ass kicked. Later, Kag."   
  
*   
  
I think my life didn't get interesting until I started this school. I swear, how do the others keep up with it? I don't have any time to just sit and vegetate anymore, it seems.   
  
What I'm trying to get to is that during the time I usually eat and, ahem, finish unfinished homework (Shh. I'm really unwinding, I swear), someone else decided to hop into our crazy lives. According to Miroku's judgment, a rather cute someone.   
  
"Hi!" a cheerful voice chirped, startling the majority of our group and causing Sango to throw her bag of Cheetos into the air (and of course, onto me and my Psychology homework). The girl smiled as I picked the crunchy, cheesy, orange chips from my hair and looked at Inuyasha with these adorable, heart-melting eyes.   
  
Inuyasha recoiled a little, obviously not used to the overwhelming about of cuteness.   
  
"Are you Inuyasha?" the girl asked, kneeling in front of our dear, rattled friend. Miroku, who was sitting opposite of Inuyasha, took that opportunity to check out her butt. This, of course, earned him several smacks on the back of his head.   
  
"What's it to you?" Inuyasha asked, scooting back just a bit. I was too busy wrestling a particularly stubborn Cheeto from my hair to listen completely, but I'm pretty sure Inuyasha sounded annoyed. Well, cute and perky weren't his style. Good to know.   
  
"Are you reeeeally Mr. Sesshomaru's brother?"   
  
One more day of school, one new white hair for Inuyasha. Maybe it was a hereditary thing, and Inu was going to have a complete head of white hair by the time he was Sesshomaru's age. Of course, I wasn't about to ask Inuyasha at the moment..   
  
"Yes, I am reeeeally Mr. Sesshomaru's brother," Inuyasha grit out, crushing a poor, defenseless can of orange soda. I scooted away from him quickly, feeling more 'orangy' than I needed to be at the moment. "Why?"   
  
"I'm Rin!" the girl, once again, chirped. I don't think I've ever met someone so.. perpetually happy. I know this may seem annoying, but there was something about the girl's smile that seemed contagious. To me, at least. Inuyasha looked as if he wouldn't mind slapping her silly.   
  
"That's nice." He leaned further away from her. "What do you want?"   
  
"Could you.. um.." Rin blushed cutely and looked down at her hands, then suddenly whipped out a dog-eared envelope and thrust it at Inuyasha, getting this comically grimacing look on her face. "Could you deliver this to Mr. Sesshomaru, please!"   
  
Inuyasha looked at the envelope as if it contained some flesh-eating poison in it, then carefully grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. He looked as if it were the last thing in the world he wanted to be holding.   
  
Apparently, him taking the letter was a good enough affirmation for Rin, because soon after she leapt to her feet and bowed so many times and so quickly it became nearly impossible to see her face. "Thank you, Mr. Inuyasha!" With that, she turned around and ran in the direction of Saint Bernard's School for Special Girls.   
  
After a long moment of confused silence, everyone in the group leaned forward with curiosity.   
  
"So, what is it?" Kouga finally asked.   
  
Inuyasha, who was looking at the front of the envelope with an expression of mingled disgust and amusement, turned it around so the rest of us could see what was on the cover.   
  
In neat, elaborate cursive, Rin had put: "Mister Sesshomaru". She dotted the 'i' with a heart.   
  
"Aww," Sango said, sipping from her juice carton. "How cute. She has a crush on your brother."   
  
"Adorable," Inuyasha echoed sarcastically.   
  
"I think she's a year younger than us," Kikyo said, turning to watch as Rin disappeared into a group of skirt-clad girls. "She's in one of my classes."   
  
"She's hot," Miroku added, having to put in his two cents. Sango socked him in the arm. "What?!"   
  
"Whatever," I bit in. Everyone turned to look at me, surprised by my tone of voice. Growling, I plucked a Cheeto from my hair and hurled it at Sango. "Thanks a lot, pal!"   
  
"Oops." Sango put on her best innocent face and grinned at me. "Sorry!"   
  
.:end chapter fifteen:.   
  
Well, that was a relatively slow chapter. I apologize for that. Hell, I apologize for everything! Please don't maim me! *begs and whatnot* Anyway, more soon! Finals! Yay! *drops her head in her hands*   
  
And, for your information, to anyone who thinks that Kagome covering up her burn with make-up is unrealistic, I would like to beg to differ. u.u 


	16. Mystery Machine

A/N: My life hates me. 

---

I was having one of those days. You know, the kind where your roommate forgets to put the toilet seat back down and you don't notice, which results in you falling into the toilet—and when you finally get out of the toilet and do your business, you then realize that there's no more toilet paper. Yeah, one of those kind of days. Everyone has them at least one point in their lives. It was a butthole day.

It was also detention day.

You know, there are times when I really can't begin to understand life. I mean, how come life suddenly decides it wants to pick up after you move to an all boy school when you're really a girl? Bear with me, that was a purely hypothetical question.

Anyway, it was one of those days. It actually started at about five-thirty in the morning, when I woke up for some completely inexplicable reason. One minute I was dreaming about walking under the ocean (I readily admit I have mad weird dreams) while being followed by an eight legged spider, and the next I was sitting up in my bed, trying to figure out what was out of place. Of course, that's hard to do when the only light in the room is the glowing, green numbers of my digital clock. That read five-thirty. In the morning. You know, when the sun isn't even out yet.

Letting out a sigh that completely emptied my lungs, I twisted a bit so that I could roll out of bed and onto my feet. At least, that was my plan. You see, my legs got rather tangled in my sheets and I ended up sprawled half on the floor and half on my bed with a mouthful of dust bunnies. I spit and grumbled, trying to rid myself of the cottony feeling that suddenly filled my mouth. Yuck.

Flipping myself over with much effort, I did a complicated sit-up and wrestled my way out of the blanket. For a moment I just lied there, the lower half of my body still resting uncomfortably on the bed. I was tired, and not quite sure why I was trying so valiantly to get up. By all means I should have just gone back to sleep. It was five-thirty, after all. But my mind was bothering me—something _was_ oddly out of place.

It then struck me that I was the only one in the room.

I blinked hard. Hojou generally never left during the weekend, his family lived too far away for him to be leaving every five days. The expenses would be mad crazy.

I didn't think about it too hard, though. If Hojou wanted to spontaneously disappear, then Hojou could spontaneously disappear. Reassured by these thoughts, I finally gathered my wits together enough to pull myself to my feet and stumble towards the bathroom.

Who on earth woke up at five-thirty on Saturdays anyway?

My mind decided that that was enough thinking for the day and I stumbled over to the bathroom. Detention was going to start in a couple hours, so I figured that I might as well get myself clean. Aka, take a shower. So, half asleep, I turned on the water, waited exactly five-point-eight minutes for it to heat up (our heating system, mind you, is terribly temperamental), then stepped under what should have been a nice, hot stream.

It was ice cold.

I shouted in surprise and woke up half the dormitory.

Happy-bloody-Saturday morning to me.

**School Daze**  
by Clara  
Chapter Sixteen: Mystery Machine

"That's quite a shiner you got there." 

"Good morning to you too, Kagome," Eiji greeted, ice pack still pressed against one of the worst black eyes I had ever seen in my natural born life. Miroku was hovering at his side with an embarrassed and guilty expression on his face, which could only mean our dear pervert boy was responsible for the eye. The two of them were lounging in the near empty cafeteria, along with Kouga. "By the way, I hate you."

"As does the majority of the dorm. What happened? To your eye, not why everyone hates me."

"I sorta clobbered him with the door," Miroku piped up, still looking sheepish. A sheepish Miroku is a funny image, mind you. I raised my eyebrow at him and he snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, how was I supposed to know he was there?"

"I think it would be pretty damned obvious, since I was standing right in front of you," Eiji snapped back, and Miroku went back to looking sheepish. I grinned. "And wipe that grin off of your face, Kagome. I still hate you."

My grin widened. I was having a crappy day already and, hell, misery loved company.

"Why?" Kouga drawled from his place beside me. He was draped across one of the chairs like a big old wolf. "What'd you do to him? And the rest of the dorm, for that matter."

"Woke us up," Eiji responded for me, giving me the devil's eye. "At five in the bloody morning!"

I beamed and stole Kouga's half-finished muffin. He made a weird growling bark at me, and I ignored him. I ignored Eiji too, for that matter, and changed the subject. "When's our detention, Miroku?" I asked.

"In about an hour." The renowned pervert, who was consequently one of my best friends, started to pace for some reason. I watched him, nibbling my new muffin. It was stale and dry.

"For crying out loud, Miroku, sit down and--"

_THUMP_

"--shut up." I dropped my head in my free hand, willing this morning to be over. "'Mornin', Inuyasha."

"I think you broke my nose," he replied. After a few moments he pushed himself up enough to rest his head on the palms of his hands. His nose was red. "Can I kill you now?"

"Too early," I responded cheerfully, taking a bite from the muffin.

"Damn. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Detention." I glared at him, suddenly, just remembering WHY I had a detention. "You know, you deserved that whole sit.."

_WHAM!_

"..thing. Oops."

"You. Are. So. Dead."

Quickly pushing myself to my feet, I grinned at my other friends who were trying to hide their laughter, threw a wave, then bolted. "Later, 'Yasha!"

I was _not_ about to stay and learn all those creative ways of killing me he had stored away in his mind.

Lady Kaede was vengeful.

"I want you to clean and reorganize the entire attic."

The attic looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

"And when you're done with that, I want you to do the same with the basement."

The basement was worse than the attic.

"When you're done, come back to me and I'll see if your job was good enough. If not, you have to redo it." And, with those parting words, she left me and Miroku with a bucket of soapy water, several rags, two brooms and a mop. I reached up and touched my temple tiredly, then sighed.

"Well, come on Priest. Let's get cleaning."

"Mmph."

"What do you mean, 'no'?! I am _not_ about to clean this entire attic by myself! I mean, look at it!"

"Mmph! Mmph mmph mph!"

"Oh, quit complaining and let's get to work."

Miroku sighed and tried to pry his teeth out of a lollipop as I walked to the first sheet-covered piece of furniture. I'm pretty sure the sheet had been white at one point in its existence, but at the moment it was a moldy yellow. I scrunched up my nose and plucked at it.

"What is all this junk, anyway?"

"It's our storage," Miroku explained thickly. He was holding the half eaten lollipop away from himself almost accusingly. "We keep all our theatre and festival stuff up here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Been up here a lot?"

Miroku gave me a mock offended look, opened his mouth to say something, then blinked and gave me a lopsided grin. "So I get detentions a lot. Sue me."

"Tempting." I rolled my eyes and uncovered the piece of furniture I had been picking at. A cloud of dust rose up, enveloping me and the moth eaten couch I released. I sneezed a couple of times. "Did you ever actually _clean_ during these several detentions?"

"Well, ah, no."

"..how'd you get away with it?" I snapped the sheet out a couple of times, trying to get all of the dust out. It seemed nearly impossible, with all the clouds that came from the sheet. Miroku's smile widened, and he walked up to another piece of furniture.

"Can't tell you that, you might kill me." He grabbed the sheet and mimicked me, a humongous dust cloud rising from that sheet, too. He sneezed. "Anyway, it's not like I did anything bad. I just always pretended to get hurt or sick. I think Lady Kaede might be catching on, though."

"Idiot." I swiped the rag half-heartedly over the surface of the couch, accomplishing nothing. I shrug and gave up, moving to the next piece of furniture. "Jeez, these things look like they've been here since the 1950s!"

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they had." Miroku was wiping down an old dresser that was water damaged. "This school is ancient."

"It looks it," I agreed, looking at an old mahogany trunk. There was a lock on it, but it was open. My interest piqued. "Hey. What do we have here?"

He must have heard the curiosity in my voice, because Miroku immediately abandoned the dresser he was scrubbing furiously at in order to crouch by my side. We glanced at each other, then both turned to the trunk, grabbed the lid, and pushed it open.

There was a skeleton folded in it.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Miroku slammed the lid of the trunk down, eyes humongous. I stopped screaming and scrambled back a couple of feet, a hand over my chest to try and unsuccessfully calm my pounding heart. There was a pregnant silence that I think both of us were to afraid to break.

"D-do you think it was r-real?" Miroku stammered. I didn't say anything, knowing it would come out in a jumbled mess. He turned to look at me, eyes so wide that white showed all around his irises. We stared at each other for a long moment, before he turned back around and opened the trunk again.

The skeleton was still there.

I blinked, snapping myself out of my terror, and crawled up beside him. There was something odd about it. It seemed a bit to clean to be.. well, a real skeleton. Gathering up my courage, I reached over and knocked on the surface of it's head. The head toppled to the side and I grimaced, but at the same time let out a breath of relief.

"It's plastic," I said, feeling extremely silly. Miroku glanced at me again to make sure, then reached over and felt for himself. The tension left his shoulders all at once, and he let out a sheepish laugh.

"Boy, to I feel stupid," he said, then leaned back. "Damn thing. What's the big idea, keeping a fake skeleton stored in a creepy old trunk, anyway?"

"I dunno, Halloween, maybe?"

Miroku looked at me as if I grew a second head, then cursed under his breath. "That's right. Halloween's coming up."

I nodded. "Hey, I thought you'd _like_ Halloween. You know, with the free candy, and all.."

"I would like it," Miroku said, still sounding a bit tizzed. He was looking at the skeleton with bitter eyes, "if it didn't fall on a Thursday this year. Or did you forget our curfew?"

My face fell. "You mean.."

"Yeah. They're extra strict about it on holidays, too. Especially 'unimportant' ones like Halloween. Anyway, we have to be in our own dorm rooms at exactly ten sharp. We can't even hang out in each other's rooms."

I frowned suddenly, glancing at Miroku. "Wait, that's not right. They used to let us stay out past eleven. At least, the upperclassmen. Why the sudden change? And how come I haven't heard of it?"

He snorted darkly, getting to his feet. "You don't read the bulletins. They're reinforcing curfew on school days, but they're not saying why. I don't know, I think it might have to do with all the shit that's going on between our school and the girl's school."

"_What_ shit?"

"You know, about the merging and stuff. Parents are complaining."

I got to my feet, shaking my head. "That doesn't explain much. Why are they punishing us for something like that?" Glowering, I snatched up another sheet and snapped it out, once again engulfed by a cloud of dust. I ignored it.

"It's not punishment to them, Kagome," Miroku grumbled, then looked at what I uncovered. The sulky look vanished. "Hey! It's an old record player!"

I shook my head. My life was getting too musical for it's own good.

Beaming like a three-year-old in a candy shop, Miroku fiddled with the controls. I checked the back of it. "It's plugged—"

"_Ooh, my little pretty one, pretty one!  
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona!_"

"—in." I jerked away from the record player, hands over my ears. "Thanks for deafening me, Miroku." I glared and he grinned.

"_Ooh, you make my motor run, my motor run!  
Gun it comin' off the line Sharona!_"

"You know, this song reminds me a lot of you," I said, moving to the next sheet covered piece of furniture. I discovered a desk. "Hmm.."

Never gonna stop, give it up.  
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch  
of the younger kind. My, my, myyiyi.. woo! 

"DEFINITELY your song," I repeated. Miroku flipped me the bird and continued dusting, crowing along to the song. I grinned and opened the drawer.

"_M-m-m-my Sharona!_"

"Now what have we here?" I asked no one, since Miroku was dancing around the room with the broom. I pulled out a stack of papers, my eyebrows raised, then started flipping through them, scanning over the papers quickly. My eye caught something, and I pulled out the paper. It looked like a photocopy of a newsclipping.

"..Hey, Miroku?"

"Yes, Sharona?"

I rolled my eyes. "Did the two St. Bernard's really used to be one school?"

"_Come a little closer huh, ah will ya huh?  
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona.  
Keeping it a mystery.. gets to me,  
Running down the length of my thighs, Sharona!_"

Miroku hopped on the desk and it let out a formidable creak. I grimaced and waited for it to collapse. It didn't. He reached over and grabbed the paper from my hand, then looked suitably surprised. "Woah, hey! That's Lady Kaede!"

"Let me see that." I snatched it back from him, then looked at the picture of the rather attractive young girl at the top of the page. I looked closer, squinting a little bit, then looked at the name beneath the photo. "Wow. It really is. She was cute."

"Hey, I'm the guy here. You're a straight girl, and not allowed to check out guys." He plucked the paper out of my hand again, scanning over the information. He knit his eyebrows together. "I knew the schools used to be one, but this isn't right.."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen here, 'St. Bernard's School for Special Children is officially splitting into two different schools, St. Bernard's School for Special Girls, and St. Bernard's School for Special Boys..'"

_"Never gonna stop, give it up. Such a dirty mind.  
Always get it up for the touch  
of the younger kind.."_

"'Lady Kaede, the new dean AND owner of the new St. Bernard's School for Special Boys, refused to answer why she had willingly handed over the majority of the assets and money to the old co-owner of the school, Mr. Daisetsu Watanabe, despite the fact he cut off connections with the two new schools. It is also unknown to exactly why the school split..'"

Miroku and I looked at each other.

_"My, my, myyiyi.._"

"WOO!" we both crowed with the song.

"_M-m-m-my Sharona!_"

Miroku folded up the paper and put it in his pocket.

"What do you think happened?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"I don't know, but that's what we're going to find out this weekend." Miroku suddenly looked at me shrewdly, then hopped off the desk. "Actually, more like what you and Inuyasha are going to find out. I have.. stuff to do this weekend."

I tapped my foot impatiently, not particularly liking the direction everything was heading. "I have work tomorrow, in case you've forgotten.."

"Yeah, and it starts at one, as you've reminded us so many times. That gives you plenty of time to go snooping around for what the hell happened way back when."

I glared at him. He was taking all my excuses and flushing them. "So, am I going to go, or is 'Kekki' going to go?"

"That entirely depends on what you find out about Mr. Watanabe. If he's a pervert, then you're going as Kekki. Well, if he's a straight pervert."

I dropped my head in my hands. "So, what now?"

"Now, we finish cleaning before Lady Kaede comes up and kills us. And while we're at it, look for more stuff about this guy."

"Faaantastic."

"_When you gonna give it to me, give it to me.  
It is just a matter of time Sharona!  
Is it just destiny, destiny?  
Or is it just a game in my mind.. mind.. mind.. mind.. mind.._

Both Miroku and I stopped what we were doing and turned to glare at the now skipping record player.

_..mind.. mind.. mind.._

Miroku kicked it sharply.

_..Sharona!_

"Thanks."

"No prob."

It took us four hours to finish cleaning the attic, then another three to clean the basement. By then I was sweaty and dusty and smelly—more than ready for a nice long shower and a nap. Unfortunately, Miroku had other plans on his mind.

"Take a quick shower. I'm going to go find 'Yasha, and you two are going to the library to look for more dirt on Mr. Watanabe. Here.." He shoved the paper in my hand. "I'll see you later."

With those parting words, Miroku headed off to find our long haired friend. I sighed, raking my fingers through my own hair, then turned around and headed towards my dorm. While walking there, I unfolded the paper and scanned it again, tucking important dates and names into the back of my mind.

_1942.. 1951.. Mr. Saito Ito.._

"..Hey."

I jumped about a foot, tossing my hands into the air in surprise. Inuyasha smirked at me, plucking the paper from my hand.

"Is this what Miroku was so excited about?"

I nodded dumbly, still too surprised to properly say anything.

He quickly read over the file, and I could almost see him mentally tucking in important bits of information in the back of his mind. He frowned deeply. "This is weird. What do you think?"

"I think we should do what Miroku said and head to the library. Or confront Lady Kaede."

"Somehow, I doubt she'll confess to anything, especially to a couple of rogue teenagers who are just snooping around out of curiosity."

"Can we name your car The Mystery Machine?"

"Fat chance, Freddy."

I grinned, then continued to walk. "Hey, you're fast. Where'd you come from, anyway?"

"I was actually heading to Eiji's room to see how he was doing when Miroku caught me and told me what was up. Briefly. So, we're heading to the library while Miroku puts his moves on Sango?" he asked, keeping pace with me.

"Yeah. But I need to take a shower first."

"No kidding. You reek."

I punched him on the arm, hard.

"Ow! Hey, it's the truth man.."

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'll meet you at the front at four-thirty?"

Inuyasha pulled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch, then nodded. "Sounds good to me. Later, Kagome!" And he was off. What is it with guys and running off at the first chance they got? I shook my head and started back towards my dorm room, dying to get out of my clothes and into a new pair. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Inuyasha was right. I DID reek.

It took us fifteen minutes to get to the library, and another ten to actually find the section with all the records in them. No, not records like for a record player, but those large old books that had newsclippings for each year. I grabbed the one for 1942 and Inuyasha the one for 1951.

"Says here the school finally split in 1951, even though they had been planning on doing it since 1942," Inuyasha said after a good twenty minutes of flipping through the gargantuan books.

"They were planning to split for almost ten years?" I asked, surprised. "Why did it take them so long?"

Inuyasha shrugged, then grabbed the book and went over to the copy machine to make a copy of the page. "Beats me. I suppose we should find Mr. Watanabe to find out, or something."

"..Or something. Why are we doing this, anyway?"

"Because.." Inuyasha said with infinite calmness, grabbing the copy and the book and returning to his seat next to mine, "..St. Bernard's is _boring_. Nothing interesting happens here. So when we find something interesting, of _course_ we're going to jump on it!"

"Baseball isn't boring," I retaliated, flipping through the book again. "There's nothing in here."

"Baseball only happens one time a year." Inuyasha was already putting the book away and searching for something else.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, hefting the humongous book back into its spot on the shelf.

"An address book. We're going to pay Mr. Watanabe a visit."

.:end chapter sixteen:.

A/N:

Edit: _June 16, 2007_

I deleted chapter 17 because that was merely an author's note (and that's against policy). In summary: School Daze is on (pretty much) permanent hiatus and is discontinued. I won't be giving it to anyone to continue, but thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story.


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